His other Half: To be Selected (SYOC CLOSED)
by ApolloSerenity
Summary: [SPOILERS FROM THE HEIR] 19 years after the events of the Heir, Prince Ahren and Princess Camille's son; Kendrick, is quiet ready to venture into his very own selection. As the eldest grandchild of King Maxon and Queen America, he sets off to start his very own selection, but what exactly do the rebels have in store this time? *SYOC CLOSED* 35/35 Girls.
1. The Announcement

**His other Half: To be Selected (SYOC)**

 **[SPOILERS FROM THE HEIR!] 19 years after the events of the Heir, Prince Ahern and Princess Camille's son; Kendrick, is quiet ready to venture into his very own selection. As the eldest grandchild of King Maxon and Queen America, he sets off to start his very own selection, but what exactly do the rebels have in store this time? SYOC. Details inside! 0/25 Girls. Rated T.**

 **Hey Everyone! This is my very own first SYOC beyond the relatively common Hunger Games SYOTs, submit me girls ranging from 16-20, oh and the caste system wasn't taken down, so it could be regarded as a bit of an AU.**

 **I'll be accepting 25 main girls, and the remaining 10 are going to be background characters and to-be-eliminated characters. You can submit two girls provided one of them is to-be-eliminated. Thank you in advance and I hope to see your submissions soon!**

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 **Chapter 1: The Announcement**

~*Kendrick*~

I paced back and force waiting patiently till my father finished his meeting with my grandparents and aunt. I was quiet anxious seeing that the atmosphere these past few days was unsettling to say the least. A couple of southern rebels thought it was funny to burn down the local public school in Belcourt, injuring 12 teachers in the process including a pregnant woman who suffered a miscarriage, as well as endangering the lives of 25 children who were all under the age of 10.

My parents were in frenzy, trying to sooth down the trembling citizens and providing compensations for the ones who suffered, but it was quiet an uproar here in the palace, and my grandfather was extremely angry seeing that the threat of the rebels never really simmered down after all those years.

I knew my grandfather held a deep hatred for them even though he rarely shows it; for they were responsible for killing both of my great-grandparents. It was quiet unusual to see my ever-kind Grandfather Maxon in such a state and it was harder imagining him actually hating someone.

"Your Highness? They're waiting for you."

My father's personal advisor and longtime best-friend, Trenton, bowed slightly and smiled a small smile that I took as a reassuring one, still though, it did nothing to calm my nerves.

"Thanks, Uncle Trent…"

He smiled at me again and squeezed my arms a little before closing the door behind me and leaving.

All the adults turned to look at me at that instant and I felt a small smile that I really hoped it didn't come off as a grimace; creep up my face. My mother answered me with a small smile of her own and she beckoned me to sit next to her. I slowly made my way to the seat next to her and I looked up at all of them and smiled a small smile.

"So…for what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?" I tried giving them a smirk, easing the tension surrounding the table and I managed to make my grandmother crack a small smile. I saw my grandfather's eyes soften slightly by my easy demeanor and he nodded once in the direction of my father who cleared his throat before turning to me.

"Kendrick, we have a really…important announcement, one that is going to affect your life greatly…"

He swallowed and looked at my mother who squeezed my hand and I was left to ponder on what he said. Why does he look so serious?

"Wow, easy people…" I tried joking again. "You're not exiling me, are you?"

They didn't smile, only my grandmother chuckled a little and they all turned to her. She cleared her throat before turning to all of them.

"Why are you making it sound so harsh, we're not going to put the boy to death, he's right, take it easy."

I shook my head and smiled at my grandmother, she's always been my favorite member of the family. Both of my parents were born royals, but America Shreave, my grandmother was actually a normal person whose caste was a 5 before my grandfather chose her in his selection about 40 years ago. She's the most easy-going member of this family and I loved spending time with her and with aunt May, her sister.

"It's just, different…Look Kendrick, with the ongoing threat of the southern rebels, we need something to put the country at ease and…well, this is sort of a surprise but it might caslm some nerves…" My mother trailed softly and turned to my father who nodded his head.

I looked at all of them carefully trying to gauge any reaction to the words I just heard but I saw none, "Okay, I'm not sure I'm following here…"

Father cleared his throat and looked up at me. "You see son, the last selection was your uncle's, and while it was a great one, it was well over 10 years ago. People are starting to rsie again and while we debated on making another selection again, it seems like it's the only way to calm people down for a while.

I tried digesting what he just said bit in the end I just looked confused; I looked at my grandmother who was watching the scene unfold in front of her with soft eyes.

"For heaven's sake Ahern, you're confusing the boy. Kendrick, darling what your father meant to say is that the Selection transition will be revisited once again, even though your father wanted you to have your very own free will when it comes to marriage but it's a necessarily evil."

I looked at my grandmother and reality suddenly dawned on me, but I felt that it was still necessary for me to fully understand what she's saying so I looked at her and said slowly… "And…"

"Your selection Kendrick, is going to be announced in three days."

I sat there stunned, looking at all of them in surprise.

"I'm 18, you don't think I'm still…I don't know, young? I thought the selected girls will be from 16-20 years old?'

My family looked at each other and my father sighed.

"We can't afford to wait another year, and besides, you have about 6 more months to be 19, it isn't exactly a big deal." My father said, looking at my mother who nodded.

"and if it would make you feel better who could make the range between the ages of 16-19, instead of 20."

I shrugged not really caring wether the girl will be older than me. It finally dawned on me that about two or three month from now I'll be married. I looked at my ring finger and sighed. This will be much harder than I thought.

"Kendrick? I'm sorry son, but it's the only thing we could think off that would make some rebels simmer down for a while. Knowing that one of their own might be a princess one day."

I shook my head and placed a grin on my face looking at my father. "Hey, I'm not complaining, I'll get to have 35 girls here in the palace in about three weeks. If anyone's lucky, it's me." I smirked at them and my grandmother laughed and shook her head.

"I always thought that you worried too much. I never thought Kendrick would actually oppose to the idea."

I smiled and winked at my grandmother and she winked back. I stared at my family as they talked amongst themselves and I was left for the first time since I entered the room to my thoughts.

Am I really ready for my very own selection?

I stared at the constant lovable look that my grandfather reserved for my grandmother and the way he held her hands so tenderly and I sighed to myself, will I ever have anyone too look at and love that way?

Guess I'll just have to find out.

 **Rules:**

 **-PM characters only. I will not accept characters through guest review unless they're to-be-eliminated characters or background characters such as guards, aids or maid…etc.**

 **\- Let me be honest, I hate Mary Sue's with a passion, so please under absolutely no circumstances; YOU ARE NOT to submit Mary Sues. If you want to know how to avoid writing one, check out the Forum:** **Tips, Tricks, and Do's and Don'ts and click on the Section of "What is a Mary Sue".** **Also, please no America copies. I want real, original characters that I could develop. If I find America copies they would be some of the first to be eliminated.**

 **\- Don't submit people with weird attributes. I understand that there might be one or two with a colorful hair color, but I don't want 10 girls with blue/pink/purple hair and tattoos all over their body. Be original, but don't go crazy with your characters.**

 **\- The most important thing; DETAILS! I want you to pour your heart out when creating those characters. I want to know everything about them so I could integrate them well into the story.**

 **\- Be diverse! I don't want 20 girls who are all pale skinned and have blue eyes and could be a reincarnation of a typical valley girl. I want diversified characters. Hispanic, Native, African American, Indian, Asian….just be original.**

 **-This story is not a first come first serve, I'll be picking the girls that I think I can write well and fit with the story.**

 **The form will be on my profile along with a list of provinces.**

 **Form:**

 _ **Full Name:**_

 _ **Nicknames (Optional):**_

 _ **Age (16-20):**_

 _ **Province:**_

 _ **1**_ _ **st**_ _ **Preference:**_

 _ **2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **Preference:**_

 _ **Caste:**_

 _ **Occupation (Should go along with their caste!)**_

 _ **Height/Weight/Build:**_

 _ **Eyes:**_

 _ **Hair (Color/length/type/preferred style)**_

 _ **Ethnicity:**_

 _ **Skin Tone:**_

 _ **Overall Appearance/Other District Features:**_

 _ **Face Claim/Celebrity-Look-Alike (optional, and AGE APPROPRIATE!):**_

 _ **Makeover Changes:**_

 _ **Selection Style (clothes, shoes, hair, makeup, colors, fabrics, silhouettes, jewelry, anything you can think of!):**_

 _ **Style before the Selection (Same as above):**_

 _ **Personality (DETAILS!):**_

 _ **History/Backstory (Same as Personality, details!):**_

 _ **Strengths:**_

 _ **Weaknesses:**_

 _ **Likes/Hobbies/Passions:**_

 _ **Hopes/Dreams:**_

 _ **Dislikes:**_

 _ **Fears:**_

 _ **Languages Spoken (be realistic, nobody can speak ten languages at 17/18/19):**_

 _ **Family: (State the relationship you character has with each member of her family):**_

 _ **Parents:**_

 _ **Siblings:**_

 _ **Other Relatives:**_

 _ **Pets?:**_

 _ **Best friends/Friends:**_

 _ **First date Ideas:**_

 _ **Maids (Optional, Max: 3)**_

 _ **How do they treat the Selected girls:**_

 _ **How do they treat the maids?:**_

 _ **Thoughts on the Royal Family:**_

 _ **Reason for entering:**_

 _ **Romantic History:**_

 _ **Theme Song:**_

 _ **If eliminated, why?:**_

 **Could she be chosen to be an Elite?:**

 **If yes, why?:**

 _ **Anything else:**_

 **Available Provinces:**

 **Allens-**

 **Angeles-**

 **Atlin-**

 **Baffin-**

 **Bankston-**

 **Belcourt-**

 **Bonita-**

 **Calgary-**

 **Carolina-**

 **Clermont-**

 **Columbia-**

 **Dakota-**

 **Denbeigh-**

 **Dominica-**

 **Fennley-**

 **Hansport-**

 **Honduragua-**

 **Hundson-**

 **Kent-**

 **Labrador-**

 **Lakedon-**

 **Likely-**

 **Midston-**

 **Ottaro-**

 **Paloma-**

 **Panama-**

 **Sonage-**

 **Sota-**

 **St. George-**

 **Sumner-**

 **Tammins-**

 **Waverly-**

 **Whites-**

 **Yukon-**

 **Zuni-**


	2. An Agreement

**Thank you all for the great reviews, I really appreciated the feedback and I'm looking forward to writing the sotry now more than ever! Special thanks to wolfofstark, marybethcoley, XOStarbrightXO, More. Than. just. A. Story , UltimateMaxemricaShipper and Keneli10 for reviewing!**

 **Also thanks for everyone who submitted!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own!**

 **The Shreave Family:**

 **Here's the updated family tree for the Shreave family including all of Maxon and America's grandchildren from Ahren and Eadlyn.**

 **Ahren + Camille**

Kendrick Trojan Maxon Schreave: 18 1/2

Costin Reginald Hayworth Schreave: 16

Noah Ariadne Isadora Schreave: 15

Noel Isolde Andromeda Schreave: 15

Leander Justus Ellery Schreave: 13

Daisy Ginevra America Schreave: 10

 **Eadlyn + Kile Woodwark**

Lysander Apollo Cliff Woodwark: 19 3/4

Naya Selene Marlee Woodwark: 15

Loulou Violet Bryony Woodwark: 12

Silas Kristoff Kaden Woodwark: 10

Sage Ariana Lilian Woodwark: 10

These are the important ones to know. Some were mentioned and some made and appearance, and the rest will make their appearances in the coming chapters.

 **Now, onto the story…**

 **Chapter 2: An Agreement**

~*Kendrick*~

I walked down the hall towards my room lost in thought. Looking down, I noticed my ring finger again and sighed as I slowly ran the other hand through my hair, thinking about what just happened in that meeting. The whole thing still hasn't sunk in to be honest, especially the fact that in less than four months, I'll actually be married.

Wow, I'm going to be married before I was 19.

The thought made me stop walking for a minute. Marriage was a subject that my parents never tackled before today. My father had his own free will when he married our mother and wanted us all to have it as well. To be honest though, the idea doesn't upset me, it's just the fact that I will actually be married is the one thing that scares me a little.

I heard soft giggling down the corridor and I snapped out of my thoughts smirking. I walked the short distance before the source of the giggling came to view and I felt the smirk sliding back on my face.

"There's nothing more I'd need than the triplets right now." I said sighing and smirking at the three. They just giggled again and after a few seconds, Noel came forward and smiled.

"So it's true then?"

I smiled at her and gave her a questioning glance before it dawned on me and I rolled my eyes.

"Were you three listening at the door again?"

They giggled again and I smiled at them in defeat and ran my hand through my hair.

"Well you're meeting was said to be highly confidential. The words highly and confidential alone represented a challenge for us." Noah said smirking.

"Yeah and you know that it's a known fact that we never back down from a challenge." Naya continued giggling all the while.

I smiled at them and shook my head, already used to their antics by now. If people didn't know us (Which is quiet impossible seeing that we're the royal family) they would say that Noel, Noah and Naya were triplets. The three of then were the only three to inherit our grandmother's red locks. They all also inherited our grandfather's brown eyes. But triplets, they certainly were not.

Noel and Noah were my younger twin sisters. They were 15. Naya was my cousin; she was Aunt Eadlyn's second born after my older cousin Lysander. She was also 15, born only two months before Noel and Noah. That didn't stop the three of them from being best friends and spreading mischief all around the castle. There is a rumor going on that when the three of them were six, eight consecutive tutors quit because of their behavior. It's a known fact that you wouldn't want the three of them as enemies.

"So is it true then?"

"Are you really going to have a selection?"

"There are 35 girls who will actually be here by next month?"

"Are you excited about it?"

"What kind of girl are you looking for?"

"Can we help you choose then?"

"Can we be bridesm-"

I stared at all of them my eyes wide as their questions were fired from all directions and I rubbed my temple in frustration and amusement. It wasn't until Noel was about to ask about them being bridesmaids, and I snapped.

"OKAY, okay…one at a time." I said sighing at their eager faces.

"Yes, to answer your question, there will be a selection and there will be 35 girls here by next month." Noah was about to open her mouth again before I cut her off.

"Yes, I am sort off excited I guess, because seriously what kind of guy wouldn't be excited at the prospect of having all those girls in one place." At this they rolled their eyes and I smirked.

"And Naya, I don't really know what kind of girl I'm looking for, being around you three all my life only gave me idea about the kind of girl I don't want." I smirked at them again and they exchanged a glance.

"Don't flatter yourself K, you won't be able to keep up with someone like us anyway." I gave her a little mock glare and she smirked.

"No way will you be helping me choose, I seriously don't need the triplets to be quadruplets so actually, you guys would be laying low when they come." The three of them simultaneously rolled their eyes and I marveled for a second at their ability to do that at the same time.

"And about being bridesmaids, I think it would be up for the girl to decide not me…Unless you three want to be my best men."

The three of them looked at each other and smirked before Noah turned to me. "Oh don't worry K, we would be the bestest friends to your future wife. After all, what better way to put you in tight situations when we have the girl you're going to spend the rest of your life with is as our friend?"

I looked at all three of them raising my eyebrows and I closed my eyes in defeat. Being around the three of them actually drains me.

"I'm going to choose not to reply to what you just said. Naya, where's Lysander?"

Naya sighed a little in defeat as she shared a look with Noah and Noel before turning to me.

"Your stupid cousin is looking for trouble. He's flirting with Leander and Loulou's tutors up in the third floor. I swear, one day, he's so going to get it."

I smirked at that and I left them as they began plotting their next big prank. Lysander was the exact definition of a womanizer. He's older than me by a little over a year, making him almost 20 years old. He was supposed to have his selection a couple of months ago but he refused to even listen to that suggestion. Lysander was way too stubborn and independent to even consider the selection. He claims love is a weakness.

At least he's not third in line to the throne like me.

Most people would think that because of the crown we would hate each other and that might've been the case if he actually cared about being King. Lysander was only concerned with the title prince because it got him all the girls he wanted. Being king would actually take away his freedom and use up most of his time; it will also force him to be responsible. So, when the line of succession was revealed to us, and I was revealed to be the next in line after my father, he actually clapped me on the back and gave me a grin, telling me simply 'Good luck with that, you're going to need it'. We've been best friends ever since.

"Hey King kong!"

I shook my head smiling at his nickname for me and I grinned turning to face him.

"I heard that a certain King-to-be is about to venture down the unavoidable path of marriage. Is that true?" I raised an eyebrow at his smirk and shrugged his hands away.

"Oh let me guess, you also heard about the selection… seriously, I thought confidential meant…well, _confidential."_

He laughed and put his arms around my shoulders again. "Little cousin, its high time you actually accept that word travels extremely fast around here. You can't help it, it's unavoidable."

I rubbed my eyes, slowly cursing his ever growing smirk and shrugged his shoulders away again.

"So what else have you heard then?"

He laughed and sat down at the couch, "Well, I heard that in less than a month 35 ladies will be pleasuring us with their presence. I actually have a question regarding that, Can I sh-"

"If you're next word is Share, don't even bother asking."

He smirked at me again, and I rolled my eyes. "Seriously bro, what exactly are you going to do all by yourself with 35 chicks? The least you could do is give your favorite cousin the ones you don't want."

I rolled my eyes again, "dude, can you seriously hear yourself? These girls aren't here for brief fling!"

He smiled his mischievous smile and shook his head, "In all actuality little cousin, that's exactly what they came here for." He smirked again as I looked at him puzzled.

"The one thing that would be different is that the fling is going to be with me not with you." I sighed in exasperation at his smirking face and shook my head.

"Seriously Lysander, be serious here. These girl are ladies, and well…they're not here to play games."

He raised his eyebrows, shaking his head before suddenly looking at me with a calculating and smirking expression on his face.

"Say what, we'll make a little deal. I know that you'll be choosing 10 elites. By that time, you already would have chosen a solid choice or well, two or three choices at least. The one thing I could guarantee you is that not all 10 would be favorites. So how about this, you choose 9, and let me choose the 10th. From the very start of the competition I'll be telling you about my choice, so you wouldn't eliminate her. And technically that wouldn't be treason; well, it will only be treason, if we get caught. What do you say?"

I looked at his smirking face and debated telling him no. Knowing Lysander though, he would do something much more drastic as a retort. We might be best friends, but Lysander just likes to have his way, and if I didn't agree with him now, he'll just do it behind my back.

I nodded at him slowly and almost reluctantly, "Alright then, deal. But, do not tell any single person about this. You'd be pulling me into massive trouble. And for the love of everything worth loving, do not get caught."

His smirk grew bigger and he lifted his fist in the air in success. I sighed to myself, his 12-year old-like behaviour is slowly getting on my nerves.

"I knew I could count on you little cousin. I knew it." He messed up my hair and sauntered off to his room.

I really hope that this whole thing runs smoothly and no one knows about this arrangement. Or else we would be facing a much bigger problem than the southerners.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to regret what I just said?"

 **A.N Thank you to all the people who submitted. I still have plenty of slots available though and so far I got only 17 out of the 25 I wanted. Please submit!**

 **Here's the updated provinces list.**

Provinces:

 **Allens-** Wrena Lorelei Everborn - Caste 4, 18

 **Angeles-** Katerina Yasmina Winslow - Caste 6, 18

 **Atlin-**

 **Baffin-**

 **Bankston-**

 **Belcourt-** Cece Eliza Maxwell - Caste 2, 19

 **Bonita-** Techno Smiles - Caste 5, 20

 **Calgary-**

 **Carolina-** Viola Imogen Blakely - Caste 7, 18

 **Clermont-** Lacey Nichole Taylor - Caste 2, 16 1/2

 **Columbia-**

 **Dakota-** Aylee Lillian Winters - Caste 4, 17 1/2

 **Denbeigh-**

 **Dominica-** Eris Von Justice - Caste 5, 18 1/2

 **Fennley-** Sadie Mae Lewis - Caste 2, 17

 **Hansport-** Joey Neveah Castle - Caste 3, 17

 **Honduragua-**

 **Hundson-**

 **Kent-**

 **Labrador-**

 **Lakedon-** Casey Renee Andre - Caste 3, 17

 **Likely-** Genji Liu - Caste 5, 16 3/4

 **Midston-**

 **Ottaro-**

 **Paloma-**

 **Panama-**

 **Sonage-** Jordyn Alexandria Di Antonio - Caste 2, 18

 **Sota-**

 **St. George-**

 **Sumner-** Tigerlily Dakota Mayfield - Caste 4, 17

 **Tammins-**

 **Waverly-** Annabelle Perez - Caste 3, 19

 **Whites-**

 **Yukon-**

 **Zuni-** Cassandra Rose Summers - Caste 4, 16

 **-Lyra**


	3. Castle on the Cloud

**Castle on the Cloud**

 **Introducing the first three Selected:**

 **Aylee Lillian Winters submitted by: More. Than. Just. A. Story**

 **Fae Valentine submitted by: Wolfofstark **

**And, Johona Ajei Begay submitted by: Thedaffodilqueen**

* * *

 **Aylee Lillian Winters**

"For the last time Christie, I said I'm going to do it!"

Aylee exclaimed, exasperated at her cousin's nagging. She was fed up of her constant warnings about how she's effectively making the stupidest mistake of her life.

"But Una, think about it, it's like...a recipe for a disaster; I mean what if someone found out who you really are? What if word gets out and Aileen takes it as a chance to dethrone your entire family or something?"

Aylee closed her eyes in frustration and ran her hands through her hair. "Christie, she's isn't going to "dethrone" us. She's 16 years old for god's sake. And if mother happens to find out, which is highly unlikely; trust me, she's going to keep things under wraps. Heaven knows, the woman wants to marry me off, and if it's with the prince of Illea, I doubt she'll ruin the chances. And for the last time Christie, stop calling me Una. It's Aylee, been so for the past 5 weeks ever since we decided to leave and settle down here for a couple of months. Now please, get in the act, and help me finish this application!"

Christie sighed but didn't say anything. She already knew of her Cousin's stubborn streak and whatever she says won't change her mind. She might as well view the whole thing as a challenge in the end, and this won't work out well for any of them. Christie knows, she's been on the receiving end of one of Una's or "Aylee's" on-the-whim challenges. It's what made them pack up as little belongings they could carry, convince the rest of the family that they're going to Italy for a scholarship, and settling down here, using fake identities. All because Aileen told Aylee quiet bluntly that she shouldn't be expected to run a country when she didn't have any experience in the real world.

She may deny it now, but 'Aylee' is in fact Una Lillias Acheson, the crown princess of Scotland; daughter of Queen Aileas Beckenridge-Acheson and King Eudard Acheson. A stupid proclamation done at a weird timing is what brought them to Illea in the first place. Christie or Matilda Winters if we're talking assumed names; thought that moving here would appease Una for a while, but no. Una has to come up with yet another crazy idea that could really put them into so much trouble if they were outed.

"Could you at least think about it for a while? I mean consider all the possibilities…the consequences…all that"

Christie may not be royal, but she's been around plenty of royals growing up that she already knows that Una thought the whole thing through, and even if she found a small problem with the whole equation, she'd still do it. That's how much of a strong-headed person she is.

Aylee or Una sighed and dropped the pen she was holding and turned to face Christie who was still looking every bit of worried.

"look Christie…I know you're worried, heaven knows, I am too, but this could be my last shot at proving to everyone that I have what it takes to run the country. It's also my last chance in finding, well…in finding love. I have thought this through, and even though it may seem on the whim to you, I have done my research. I went to the library and I read about the Selections, the previous ones, I think it's suitable, harder than I think they made it seem but nothing I can't handle. Sure, it was a little inconvenient seeing that I would be vying for his attention between 34 other girls, but I think I really do have a shot. And besides who ever said that I'll be chosen anyway? Around here, I'm not Una Acheson, crown princess of Scotland. I'm just a lonely orphan who owns a Jewelry store across the street whose caste is 4."

Christie nodded but waved away her last point. "Una, you and I Know you have a real shot of getting in. You speak five languages, and you already look the part. Get real. I can already see a "Future Queen of Illea" banner hanging around your head"  
Una looked thoughtful but then smirked at Christie, "I do, don't I?"

Christie was getting really frustrated. "I'm serious Una, so what if you were chosen, what would you do?"

Una thought about it for a second then shrugged. "I don't know, fall in love I guess."

Christie knew that Una wasn't exactly thinking clearly when she said that. She could give her that though; she knew she had to tread lightly when it came to talking with Una about love. Heaven knows she almost married the Spanish bastard who turned out to be toying with her feelings.

"What if the prince turned out to be a bigger asshole like the one before?"

A small smile slowly made its way to Una's face and she shook her head. "From what I remember, Kendrick is anything but an asshole; in fact he was the biggest dork there is. But that was about 8 years ago; although I'm pretty sure nothing could ever change him to be a horrible person."

Christie remembered Una telling her that she did meet the prince before. About 8 years ago when her parents were invited to some banquet done in the honor of the marriage of the king's brother.

"You think you'll fall in love with him though? With 34 other girls vying for his attention?"

Una shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know Christie; All I know is that entering this Selection seems right. For me, it would seem like a big break, and maybe, it would be a dream come true. I want one someone to love me Christie, I really do."

Christie sighed but nodded. She knows that falling and being loved by a person is what Una wishes for, ever since they were little kids.

"Alright, I'll help you, what does this Application say?"

Una's eyes lit up and she hugged her cousin tightly. "You're the best cousin ever, and I don't know, let's do it together."

 _Full Name: Aylee Lillian Winters_

 _Age: 17 1/2_

 _Province: Dakota_

 _Caste: 4_

 _Occupation: Jeweler_

 _Height: 5'7"_

 _Weight: 123 Lbs_

 _Eyes: Light Ember_

 _Hair: Dark Chocolate brown_

At that Christie looked at Una raising her eyebrows. Una looked back with a leveled stare,

"What, you think I'm going to risk going in with the same hair color?"

Una then extracted a package from her bag and showed her cousin the hair dye she got earlier today.

"If I'm going to play the part of a commoner then I need some craziness in my life."

Christie rolled her eyes and raised her hands in mock surrender at the lengths her cousin is taking.

 _Ethnicity: Scottish_

 _Skin Tone: Pale_

 _Languages Spoken: Scottish, English, Italian, French, and A Little Spanish._

After finishing the application, she dropped the pen and stood up and grabbed the bottle from the table. She then made her way to the bathroom.

"What are you going to do?" Christie said, a little confused. "Aren't we supposed to go mail this somehow and take your photo?"

A light laugh came from the bathroom as Una replied. "We well my dear cousin but in time. It's time to add a little crazy to my life."

Christie sighed. These are going to be a long 6 months in Illea.

.

.

.

 **Fae Valentine**

"After yet another successful show from our very own Fae Valentine to an enormous crowd of 10,000, We've invited the Fairy herself to our very own Show; please give her a hand folks, Fae Valentine!"

Clapping ensued from every corner as the petite young doll-faced girl went up to the stage in modesty, waving at people and smiling genuinely.

So, Fae valentine, how does it feel to be famous all around Illea and to sing to a crowd of 10,000? To someone as exceptionally young as you are, that must have been a tough ride to get to but rewarding nonetheless, isn't that right?"

Fae smiled shyly. Even though it's been a couple of years since she first started getting invitations from talk shows, she still found the experience really embarrassing.

"Well, Bryan, I'm not sure about the feeling but one thing I feel is the rush I get whenever I'm on stage. I love singing, and singing to a full house has always felt exhilarating."

People all around her clapped again and Fae gave them a full smile, beaming at all the crowd.

Bryan smiled at the teenager and nodded at the crowd, who settled after a few seconds. "You must feel proud to have such a strong fan base though; people as far as Honduragua who live on the other side of the country came to watch you perform. How does that make you feel?"

Fae smiled her beautiful smile at everyone surrounding the stage before turning to Bryan and speaking softly.

"My fan base is the most important thing to me. I would do anything for them. They're what keep me going Bryan, and without their constant support I would cease to be anyone. I feel proud to have such a strong fanbase, and even more proud to be saying this right now."

The crowd began clapping again enthusiastically and some even rose to their feet. Bryan Fieldman smiled at the girl and nodded at the crowd to settle down, they did after a few second and Bryan was able to continue.

"It would seem stupid of me to point this out because everyone has heard of it, but I wanted to know, and I'm pretty sure all young boys are tripping over their feet to know. Are you applying for the selection?"

Fae stopped for a moment before smiling another dazzling smile at Bryan. "Till now Bryan I haven't really made up my mind. I don't know If I'm entering or not. But I'll be sure to keep you posted."

The crowd clapped again before Bryan raised his hand. "One last question, When will be expecting to see another show from our very own Favorite Fairy?"

Fae smiled at the crowd, "As I always say Bryan, Whatever the crowd wants, the crowd gets." At that Fae blew a kiss to the enthusiastic public and stood and left her seat waving all the way to the exit.

At the exit she found a horde of fans waiting for her at the door, she smiled as she reached them and went over to a crowd of them, spotting a small girl in pigtails.

"Miss Fae, Miss Fae, can I have your autograph?"

Fae smiled and nodded at the young girl. "Why off course, what's your name?"

After asking the question, Fae heard the unmistakable horn of her mother's Range rover. She ignored it.

"Cynthia! And could you also do another for my sister Georgie?"

Fae smiled at the two girls and nodded, taking the pen and the paper and writing her name in the papers.

"Are you twins?" Fae said, smiling at both girls.

Cynthia shook her head and smiled enthusiastically. "Nope, I'm older by two year!"

Fae finished writing her autograph and looked up at them. "You know, I also have a younger sister, her name is Alysa."

Fae hard the horn again and looked at the gates to find her mother looking at her and frowning. She bent down again and gave both papers to the girls and smiled at them.

"It was very nice to meet you both. I hope I see you in another show soon"

Both girls jumped up and down and nodded. Fae gave them one last wave and left through the entrance waving at all her fans on the way out. As soon as she reached the car, her mother opened the door and she climbed in quickly away from the stinging cold.

"Whatever took you so long? I told you a thousand times Fae, you needn't to waste time greeting people. A celebrity should be a little bit Arrogant. Arrogance is key in celebrities' popularity. Take Cece Maxwell as a role model for once."

Fae didn't answer. Off course her mother is going to praise Cece Maxwell's arrogance. Cece was only the most famous Model in Panem. Known for her beauty, and quiet ironically her scandals with the press.

"I heard what you said today, when Bryan asked you about the Selection."

Fae looked at her mother and shrugged. Her mother did ask her three times till now and told her to think about applying ever since the application got sent to them two days ago.

"I just don't know, I'm not sure yet if I want to.

Her mother didn't say anything until Fea felt something on her legs. She looked down to find a small letter from the Service office.

"I pulled a few strings and managed to convince them to take an old picture of yours. I told them that the paparazzi are going to be all around the place if you go there by yourself."

"You applied for me?" Fae said, still not believing it. What made her mom think that she needed her to take an important decision like this for her?

"I thought you're taking too much time deciding. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I wouldn't let you miss it."

Fae was furious. For the first time in her life, she didn't care that this is her mother.

"Hasn't it occurred to you that this is my life? How would you feel if you were in place? How would you feel if your mother applied to you in something that would shape your entire life without taking your thoughts into consideration?

Her mother looked away from the road at her daughter with a cold look in her eyes. She spoke calmly. Too calmly, in Fae's opinion and that meant nothing good.

"If I was in your position, I would thank my lucky stars that I have a mother like that whose only goal is to make her daughter the most famous person in the country. I wouldn't be complaining."

Fae knew she was playing with fire, but she was so angry that nothing would've stopped the next couple of words that came out of her mouth.

"All the while you're ignoring your other 6 year old daughter in the process. Where is Alysa today mom? Pray tell, is she at another neighbor's house because you don't think she's worth it? Because off course, a family of perfection would not accept a six year-old because she happens to have no singing talent. Yes, you're right; you're the greatest mother anyone could ask for. You could easily win the Best mother of the year award, I'm just too blind."

Fae threw the door open and rushed out, leaving her mother staring at the road and gripping the stirring wheel tightly.

Fae went over to their neighbors, the Dawsons and hastily wiped away the tears that were flowing down her eyes. She knocked three knocks and a moment passed and Tyler, the eldest son, opened the door.

"Oh, hey Fae. Your sister is upstairs with Mae I'll tell her you're here."

Fae nodded in thanks and in the process spilled a few tears. Tyler noticed and raised his eyebrows; his eyes softening. He turned away for a second before looking at Fae again.  
"Fae are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Fae shook her head and looked away.

"Fae, you do know that you're welcome anytime, right? If that witch is really having a go at you, you do know you'll always be welcome here."

Fae smiled at him in thanks but shook her head. "Thanks Tyler, I'll keep that in mind."

Fae knew though that nothing in the world could possibly make her mother stay away from her, even if she desperately wanted that to happen. Hell wouldn't keep her mother away from her, Fae knew her mother too well.

"Fefe!"

Fae hastily wiped her tears away from her eyes as she heard the voice of her little sister. She bent down and took the six-year old in a hug. She thanked Rachel Dawson, Tyler's mother for keeping her before carrying Alysa back to their mansion.

She used the back door and slipped upstairs to their room. Even though Fae has her own room, she avoids it and stays at her sister's almost every night. Mostly, her sister is the one who needs comforting, today though; it's Fae who needs the comforting.

"What's wrong Fefe?" Fae smiled at the six-year old and stretched herself on the bed. Alysa knelt beside her and Fae looked up at the innocent eyes of her sister.

"Can you sing to me, Aly?

Alysa's lips quivered slightly, "but mama said not to sing. She said my voice isn't good enough to sing and that it causes her a headache."

Fae closed her eyes and tried to swallow down the anger she felt towards her mother before smiling at the girl.

"Your voice is beautiful Aly, I want you to sing whenever you please. Don't care what mother thinks. It's you own free will. Now sing to me."

Alysa smiled softly and hugged her sister before settling down next to her, placing her head on Fae's chest.

" _There is a castle on a cloud,_ _  
_ _I like to go there in my sleep…"_

Fae smiled softly at 'Their song' before singing with Alysa.

" _Aren't any floors for me to sweep,  
Not in my castle on a cloud._

 _There is a room that's full of toys,  
There are a hundred girls and boys,  
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,  
Not in my castle on a cloud…"_

Fae slowly drifted off to sleep, thoughts about the impending selection and her harsh mother out of her head. All she thought of the moment she drifted off is her tiny beautiful sister she had in her arms.

"Goodnight Aly"

"Goodnight Fefe"

.

.

.

 **Johona Ajei Begai**

"Jo, come on! We're going to be late!"

"Coming! I'm almost done!" Johona hollered back then shrugged at the passersby who gave her a look for her loud voice. Johona was used to the looks people give her, now if people start to ignore her presence completely, that's when she would start to be worried.

She looked down at the plant she was potting and started digging through the soil carefully, trying her hardest not to reach the sensitive parts of the plant. She then got some fertilizer and stuffed the pot with it. She watered it, careful not to spill a lot of unnecessary water and flooding the plant, before getting up and stretching. She took off her gloves and placed them in her bag and trotted up the door and ringing the doorbell.

"All done Signor Garcia, Enjoy your new garden."

Signor Garcia looked around him and smiled widely upon seeing the potted flowers.

"Oh lo Bonito! Que chica intelligante! You clever girl, how can I pay you?" Johona smiled at him, happy to find that the 'little surprise' made him happy. Even though her job wasn't exactly an ideal one, she tried to make herself the best in that field. So, knowing her next client is Spanish, she took it upon herself to search for the national Flower of Spain before coming and planting it for him in surprise. Sure, the Red Carnation isn't exactly easy to find, but it was worth it after seeing his reaction. She brought over all potted plants with her today as a surprise. Seeing his reaction, she thinks she's done a good job too.

"Here you go, A extenso payment for a perfecto job. I must say you really did a fantástico job"

Johona smiled at him and looked down to find five hundred dollars. She blinked back the tears and swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at the beaming man and beamed at him. Normal gardening Jobs gave you 150 dollars at most.

"Thank you signor, if you want any other help, please don't hesitate to call me."

"Si, Si, off course. I won't hesitate."

She nodded at him and left hooking her hand with Trick, her best friend and they both took off running from the rich neighborhood to their place on the other side of the province.

"So have you heard the news?"

Johona looked at her and shook her head. "Which ones exactly, you know the news; they tend to change every day"

Trick shook her head, pretty much used to her nature already. "The ones about the Selection butt head. They've mailed all applications yesterday."

Johona shrugged at her. Her application did come yesterday, but she hadn't bothered to open it.

"So…you think about entering?"

Johona shook her head; the thought truly hasn't crossed her mind. She certainly wouldn't want to get her hopes up. Being a seven and all. Seven don't have a chance at all at getting in. Sixes don't have much hope, Sevens pretty much don't exist, and they're a step away from being Eights; the non-existence itself.

"You should try at least, nothing is going come out of it if you're not chosen, and if you are, well you'd provide much better than those gardening jobs that you get."

She did have a point. Johona looked at her and shrugged again, not knowing really whether to take the chance or not.

"Come on Jo, at least, do it with me. I mean, who knows, we might have a real shot at becoming princesses."

Johona rolled her eyes at this, and then suddenly she really thought about it. Why not? Basically she won't be losing anything.

"Alright then, to hell with normal, let's be spontaneous." Trick smiled at her best friend and yelled "Woohoo".

"Alright then, race ya, go get your application and meet me at our place. In five."

She smiled at her and nodded, taking off to her house at the end of the lane. As she ran, she smiled at her neighbor, Mrs. Herzberg and she waved at her.

"Good afternoon Johona!"

"Good day to you, Mrs. Herzberg!"

Johona ran through the front door and pushed it open. "Asdzáá! Hastiin! Look what I got you today!"

Johona's enthusiastic nature wasn't exactly something new around the house, so they know that the girl isn't exactly harboring huge news.

"Asdzáá! Hastiin! I'm serious You should see this!"  
Her grandfather or Hastiin, as they call it in Navajo, came into view and smiled at her.

Whatever is the matter Jo? I know you don't need a reason to be too loud but still what's the matter?"

Johona smiled at him and waited till Asdzáá also came into view before bringing out the five hundred dollars from her pocket.

"Look, the potted plants payed off, I got five hundred dollars!"

They were silent for a moment before Hastiin took her in a hug. "Oh sweetheart, you work too hard. At least it payed off this time." She looked at Asdzáá who was beaming at her.

"Now that's my Ajai, good girl. That would cover us for at least a month in food."

Johona beamed at them before remembering what she and Trick agreed about.  
"Hey, I was wondering about something…"

The both looked at her and she shrugged. "Well…I was thinking, remember the Selection application that got mailed to me yesterday? What do you feel about me entering?"  
Both of her grandparents looked at each other before her Asdzáá answered. "Well to be honest with you Johona, I thought it was a great idea, but I didn't want to push you into doing something you would want to do. Or well, your Hastiin didn't want me to push you into doing it. He told me to wait until you brought it up yourself."

Johona looked at them and smiled. "So you don't mind then, I mean I'll just have a go, you never know I might never even be picked…"

"Oh yes, off course Jo, we were just trying to make you take the decision."

Johona smiled at them widely and grabbed them in a hug before sprinting off to her room and grabbing the application on her night stand and running out of the house."

"Later Hastiin, Asdzáá! I have an application to fill!"

She then ran till she reached the forest and went in, careful not bump into sharp branches. She walked a little until she found herself at the clearing she and Trick deemed their own.

"What took you so long?"

Johona shrugged, "I gave Hastiin and Asdzáá the money, I guess that might've taken me a few minutes." Johona smiled slowly at the joy she found in her grandparents' eyes when she gave them the money, proud of herself that she's doing them good. Ever since both of her parents died, her grandparents have been devoted to her, providing for her and loving her. She always felt like she owes them something and she felt better knowing that they're proud of her for providing for the family.

"What's on your mind?" Trick asked her and she shrugged.

"Well come on, let's get on with it!"

Trick smiled at Johona and nodded looking down at the Application.

 _Full Name: Johona Ajei Begay_

 _Age: 19_

 _Province: Midston_

 _Caste: 7_

 _Occupation: Gardner_

 _Height: 5'8"_

 _Weight: 113 Lbs_

 _Eyes: Chocolate Brown Eyes_

 _Hair: Golden honey brown_

 _Ethnicity: Navajo/Native American_

 _Skin Tone: Dark Brown_

 _Languages Spoken: English, Navajo_

Johona looked up after finishing the application and Trick looked up as well, already finished.

"Okay, you ready to mail this?"

Johona looked at her clothes and shrugged. She wasn't dressed for the occasion having just come back from work, but her hair looked decent. It's that one thing that actually always looked decent.

"Yeah, come on, it's now or never."

Trick smiled and stood up and hooked her hands with Johona and they both took off running to the Province service office. Needless to say, they found it packed and they hastily stood in line after all the girls. They got plenty of stares, ones that were easily leveled up by Johona, which made Trick laugh silently. Johona's ability to make light at any given situation is a blessing. Like right now, when everyone around them is giving them quiet the stares because their looks practically scream that they're from a lower caste.

"Everyone's staring…" Trick said slowly. As a circus performer, Trick could get really nervous when people stare. She has no problem with people looking at her when she's performing, because she knows they're looking at her talent, not at her.

"Well, let's give them something to stare at then…"

At that, Johona gave her application to Trick and bent down and easily made a flip in the air. The people staring looked at her for a few seconds, before either looking away or smiling.

One of the girls around looked at her and smirked.

"You a circus performer then?"

Johona smirked and shook her head. "Nope, ironically she's the circus performer, I'm just a show-off"

The girl rolled her eyes and turned away.

"You should do a trick or something; you're the circus performer for god's sake."

"If I give them a show now, why would I do it later for money?"

Johona didn't say anything; she just stared at the line willing it to move. After waiting for another half an hour, Johona and Trick finally advanced inside the office. Trick went in first, smiling timidly at the camera. It was then Johona's turn, who decided to remember something funny to help her smile genuinely at the camera. She recalled two summers ago when her uncles came for a visit and she accidently had a crush on her cousin Leo, not knowing who he is. That thought alone caused Johona to have a full-fledged smile on her face as the camera snapped.

.

.

.

 **Well, chapter 1 of the girls being introduced is done. I think I'll do a couple of more chapters (Like three or four others) to introduce you to some of the girls. I still need about 5 characters left, so please submit!**

 **Oh and yeah, I guess you've noticed that I'm sort of long chapter lover (This is about 16 pages long) so yeah, updates, while ideas are easy to get, it's a going to take a bit longer to write. Please Review and tell me whose your favorite among the three girls, and submit!**


	4. And Nothing will stop me…

**So Sorry for the long time no update thing. I had a lot of stuff to do last month, and I was really really busy. Besides that, I promised you all longer chapters each time I take a long time and I didn't disappoint. I love the characters in this chapter. A big thank you to all people who reviewed last chapter and to the people who submitted. I decided that I'm going to open submissions till I reach the announcement of the Selected (Which is going to occur at about chapter 9 or 8.) So I'm not going to limit the number of girls to 25. If you want to submit more, go ahead. Same goes for everyone who submitted before.**

 **(I was actually planning on including a third one but the Chapter got way out of hand and I found myself in the 19** **th** **page…So I decided to Include Eris Von Justice in the coming chapter)**

 **Now onto the Next two selected:**

 **Katerina Yasmina Winslow** **Submitted by: WolfofStark**

 **Lacey Nichole Taylor** **Submitted by: XOStarBrightXO**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **And Nothing will stop me…**

 _ **Katerina Yasmina Winslow**_

"I told you a hundred times, I will not be sleeping with clients. I thought this was the deal from the very start!" Katerina fumed at the disgusting pig of a man that she works for. It's bad enough that she has to work as an escort, but to sleep with clients? Directly breaking the country's law? No, this shit won't go down if Katerina had her say in it.

"Deals change, I've been receiving less than favourable calls from clients that you've been disregarding their orders. I will not have you tarnish my reputation. I've got the best girls, you will sit still, do your job, be pretty or whatever the fuck they want you to do and bend over your knees when you're asked or you could get the hell out of my face."

Katerina looked silently at the man not saying anything, and then she calmly took off the diamond earrings she's given to "make herself pretty" for clients and threw them on the desk. She took the cheque laid out in the table. The last one she'll receive from this place

"Consider this my resignation then" Katerina looked at the man who looked her up and down cruelly and snorted and got back to counting the money on the table.

"Oh and girl…" Katerina looked back to find him smiling a sinister smile. "Don't you ever think about coming back here!"

Katerina said nothing. She calmly left the building and went down in the streets leaving Marcus yelling his head off with more profanities. It was already too late, and she had only half an hour to spare before curfew. She began walking down the familiar path back to her home, all the while thinking of an explanation to tell her parents. Telling the truth was out of question, her parents have no idea that she works as an escort. Only her brother knows; and he detests it enough already and if anything, he'll be delighted about these news. Her parents, however, think she works as a waitress in a diner. If they know about her being an escort her mother might fall ill and her father might forbid her from getting out of the house. Heaven knows they need the money she makes, and if she's stuck at home, they might not afford to send her younger sisters to school next year.

Katerina began having a headache from thinking too hard. It's hard enough to think about the consequences of what she just did. She knows that she might not find a job easily, but she knows that she would've never been able to sleep with the clients. The thought alone disgusted her.

Katerina walked in silence until she reached the very beginning of her neighbourhood, she placed her hands in her pocket only to find her sister's Rania's Walkman. It was old and ratty but her sister loved the thing to death. It supposedly kept her locked into the world of music. Katerina can't for the life of her figure out how the hell Rania manages to get the CDs needed; her sister just laughs it off every time she asks. The Walkman is old though; it once belonged to their great grandmother Mimi who died long before her mother immigrated to IIlea. It was liable to break down and stop working at any time, but seeing how upset Rania was when it started ruining the CDs instead of playing them, she told Rania she'll try to get it fixed. Absentmindedly, Katerina forgot to drop it off before she went to work. As she wondered what she'll say to her sister when she gets home, a bright neon sign of the local hardware store greeted her at the beginning if the street and she felt a smile slip into her face.

"Well Rania, it must be your lucky day. At least one of us is lucky…" Katerina mumbled to herself as she pushed to door open. She was met by an eerie silence and she started feeling uncomfortable until a sharp clinking sound was heard from above and she jumped from the sudden noise.

"Ay, hello there...Sorry dear, didn't here you come in. I must be getting old…"

He chuckled and Katerina felt herself smiling despite being quiet alarmed. The man, while his way of entering; up on a ladder attached to the wall which quiet weirdly slides horizontally using two levers, is actually remotely different, he appeared quiet harmless. Katerina could detect the laugh lines on his face, and his eyes held a simple twinkle, and they shone behind his spectacles.

"Well, how may I help you in this wonderful evening? I must say, I never get visits from ladies quiet remarkably pretty as you are…" The man was smiling kindly, the twinkle in his eyes more evident and Katerina couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, um, I was wondering if you'll be able to fix this…" Katerina took out the Walkman and placed it on the counter. "It belongs to my sister…I know it's old but please try your best with it, my sister loves this thing to death and well…we have no other means to get her something like it."

The man just smiled and nodded, he lowered himself and brought the Walkman to his eye-level. His face took an astonished look and he looked back up at Katerina who was waiting for him to tell her that it's no use.

"Oh dear…where in heavens name have you gotten this? I haven't seen this prototype since I was a child...It must be over 50 years old! You're saying it belongs to your sister?"

Katerina nodded her head and smiled at the man, "Yes, well, it belonged to my great grandmother but my mother brought it with her when she moved here. She gave it to my sister as a birthday present a couple of years ago."

The man nodded and looked at the ratty thing again in astonishment. "Well child, I'm sorry to tell you that I won't be able to work on this thing."

Katerina's face fell the moment she heard "I'm sorry", her sister will be devastated.

"Oh so, there's no mean of it ever being fixed?"

The man looked up and shook his head quickly. "Oh no, no, I meant to say that I won't be able to fix it. This prototype needs someone who could be delicate with it. I could ruin it if I try to work on it. Oh no, the only who would be able to work on it is my nephew Mario."

Katerina smiled brightly at the man, "That's wonderful, when can he finish it?"

The man smiled at Katerina and shook his head, "I'm afraid dear that Mario won't be able to work on this at all until after at least two weeks from now…"

Katerina blinked and looked at the man questioningly. "Well, if you don't mind me asking, why can't he work on it? Is he sick?"

"Oh no, no. He's on his honeymoon. With the selection coming up, you know girls, the lot of them think they've got what it takes to enter, and they lose sight of the people who really love them. Well, my Mario didn't wait for his Christiana to leave him. He proposed to her after the announcement was made, they got married three days ago."

Katerina looked confused again. She has heard about the selection, but the information she knows is limited to filling out the application and taking a picture at the post office if you're interested. The day the announcement was made, she was working late; attending a ball with an established Businessman who needed a desperate date after he caught his wife cheating on him with their driver.

"The Selection?" Katerina wondered out loud. The man though, took it as sign to talk about the whole thing.

"Oh yes, you must've heard about them Selections. a lot of kids enter every time one of those is announced, you know, in hopes of becoming princesses and all, but a lot more are just doing it as a way to get easy cash to their families, heaven knows they send a lot of money to the families of the selected."

Katerina's head snapped at that last sentence and her brow furrowed, "Easy cash? What are you talking about? What makes you think so?"

The man smiled, "Well, back in the day when I was about your age, a girl from our neighborhood was selected. She was a seven, mind you, but right after her selection, she was immediately upgraded to a three. I heard that her parents where sent about 7500 dollars in compensation because she was taken. Man, these were a lot of money back then. Last I heard that during Prince Osten's selection, about 10 years ago, the money was almost doubled! Heaven knows how much they send these days…"

Katerina stood there flabbergasted. When he first mentioned the 7500 dollars, she was gaping, but after hearing that 10 years ago they were doubled; she almost let her sister's Walkman fall on the ground from the shock.

"Doubled? That would make it more like, what? 15000 dollars?" Katerina was still in shock and the man sighed and smiled.

"Oh yes, maybe even more this time. They might reach 20000 dollars. And you know what? Even though that girl, the one from my neighborhood, got sent home, she was an instant celebrity the moment she set foot outside the castle. She was sent there a 7 but she returned a 2. A quirk of being selected as an Elite; one of the 10 favorites."

Katerina was still staring wide eyed open mouthed, and the old man, whom she learnt from the tag on his clothes is named Mr. Whites, began talking again. "As a matter of fact, have you heard of Agnes Crystal?"

That pushed Katerina out of her reverie and she shook her head to regain her bearings and nodded it. "Off course, who doesn't know Agnes Crystal? She's only the most famous mystery writer in all of Illea." Mr. Whites smiled.

"At the time of her selection, she was known as Agnes Craven."

Katerina felt her eyes widening again. "You mean to tell me…that Agnes Crystal was a…"

"A Selected, off course dear, she was a Selected and she was a favorite. Also she was the only seven ever known to be able to reach the Elite stage. Mostly sevens are never selected, and when they do, they get eliminated fast. Let me tell you, the moment Agnes was sent back to her province, she was honored like a true hero. She was the farthest one to ever reach that stage, and a seven too, oh the people were delighted with her. Besides that, being in the selection for too long helped her, you see. During the selection she got to know one of the girls and she became her best friend. A girl that would be later be known as Lady Amberley Shreave. When she was out of the selection, Agnes legally changed her last name to Agnes Crystal and two months out of the selection, she became a bestseller. She was honored multiple times by the king and she's now married with two children and eight grandchildren. She off course married someone even higher a caste than her, ending up with a professional Football player."

Mr. Whites smiled at Katerina who was still clearly not out of her shock, "it's still hard to imagine that Agnes Craven who used to scrounge for tips from the people in the local diner would now become Agnes Crystal."

Katerina looked up even more surprised, this time; she can't even believe that she managed to find her voice. Shock was clearly evident in her tone,

"Wait, she was a waitress?"

Mr. Whites shook his head sadly.

"Actually my dear she wasn't even a waitress, she worked at a nightclub, and was a borderline prostitute. When people would tell her story, they would say that if she wasn't selected she would have ended up as a full-fledged prostitute. You could say that being selected saved her life."

Katerina remained silent for a moment then looked at Mr. Whites who was watching her silently, smiling all the while.

"You know, I never really knew the selection could change people so much."

Mr. Whites just smiled kindly, the twinkling in his eyes now becoming the more and more evident "People? Honey, the selection changes lives."

Katerina smiled at Mr. Whites and looked up to find the time nearing 12, realizing that her family is expecting her, Katerina smiled brightly at Mr. whites and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Oh sir, I'm sorry to have wasted your time, but I'm very late. Could you perhaps keep this until your nephew comes back? I wouldn't bear going back home to my sister with it still broken."

Mr. Whites smile and nodded his head. "Oh dear, don't you say that. It was nothing. You actually helped pass the time. Heaven knows, it gets really lonely in here."

Katerina smiled one last time and turned to leave, before she opens the door though, she heard Mr. Whites again.

"Lady? I'm sorry dear, but I haven't caught your name." Katerina turned to the man and smiles at him.

"Katerina. Katerina Yasmina Winslow" Mr. Whites' smile became more pronounced. He nodded his head.

"Well Katerina Yasmina Winslow, I really hope to see your face when they mention the selected. You'll do them good."

Katerina smiled. "Thank you, sir. For your time and for…well, taking the time to tell me all of that."

"Oh it's okay dear, I'm telling you this place is lonely, you helped pass the time if anything."

With one last smile toward the old man, Katerina left the store and continued down the path to her house, now clearly lost in thought about what the man told her.

Could it really happen to someone like her? Could she actually be selected and manage to raise all that money to her family?

Katerina shook her head as all the questions whirled in to her mind. She looked up to finally find her rundown house that's located at the end of the street. She hastily entered, trying not to alarm anyone with her appearance. She normally arrives at six in the morning. Arriving six hours early would surely raise her parents' suspicions. She walked silently and watched herself as she climbed the stairs, already having mastered the art of climbing them without stepping on any creaks. She managed to reach her room but before she enters, the voice of her parents made her curious and she decided to check it out, knowing that both of her parents slept early on.

Katerina slipped slowly and crouched in the hallway facing her parents' bedroom, their voiced significantly getting louder.

"… _What am I supposed to do? I can't ask Katerina to work another job; her job is tearing her up inside already. But if this keeps going, that's the only thing I could think off. Oh Damon, this is just too hard, how are we going to keep up till next month? How are we going to get food?"_

Katerina heard her father sigh and strained her ear just a bit, knowing that her father is much quieter than her mother.

" _We'll figure something out Seraphina, we will, I can promise you. Even If I ended up taking another job."_

Katerina held back a sob as she heard the helpless tone in her father's voice.

" _Damon, you already work three jobs! Are you planning on sleeping?"_

" _I'll do whatever it takes so I would be able to provide for the Family"_

Katerina tried hard not to let the sobs escape as she heard her parents stressing over their financial situations. It's the same as every month, but the level of desperation in her father's voice this time was like no other. She silently got back up and headed over to her room that she shares with her sisters. She looked at their beds to find them sleeping angelically, not a care in the world. If she looked carefully she could find faint stress lines in her younger sister's Rania's face who began working the afternoon shift in the nearby diner. It made her feel helpless as she watched her younger sister going to work every day. She never wanted Rania or Selena to work. In their parents' eyes, it was bad enough that the two older kids; Graham and herself were working to provide for the family. They didn't want the babies of the family to get roped into this as well.

Katerina dropped into her bed facing the ceiling and slowly she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes fell on the selection form lying on her desk. She took a deep breath and remembering the old man at the hardware store; she reached out and took it. After staring at it for a couple of moments, taking a deep breath she took a pen and began writing down her info. As she wrote down all her info, the voice of old Mr. Whites floated back into her mind…

" _Well Katerina Yasmina Winslow, I really hope to see your face when they mention the selected. You'll do them good."_

"Prince Kendrick, you better watch out. I'm here to win, and nothing will stop me." Katerina whispered more to the world than to herself. The selection for her isn't the princess game, it's we have to survive game. And she isn't prepared to lose that.  
.

.

 _._

 _ **Lacey Nichole Taylor**_

" _This Year we have plenty of Hopefuls but the one person that catches all eyes is certainly Lacey Nichole Taylor"_

" _She sure is a Hopeful Gale; Lacey Nichole was the three time winner of the Junior Bells_ _Beach Surf Classic_ _of New Australia when she was 13, 14 and 15, she also made herself known by placing 2_ _nd_ _in Rip Curl pro, also in Australia."_

" _Even when her family moved to Illea, John she never stopped Surfing, this girl has Sea salt in her veins. Don't forget that she also placed 1_ _st_ _two years ago in Billabong Pipeline Masters. Only to be demoted to 2_ _nd_ _place last year hitting a score barely smaller than US Champ Vanessa Jade."_

" _Well Gale, Seeing her now, I think Lacey is off to an incredible start. This day is her lucky day, sources tell me that Joel Garcia is in the stands watching and is looking for Fresh talent to join his Surfing team."_

" _Well good luck to all surfers, I have to warn you guys all that at the highest level of competition, there are no free rides. We begin with our first round of competition. And there's the horn. The first heat is underway."_

Lacey tried to block the chatter coming from the stands, especially the ones made by the TV people. She doesn't really need to be reminded of her failure last year. It's etched in her goddamn memory for all eternity. She calmly placed the surfing board on the water and began sailing her way to the middle of the water, waiting patiently for her turn. When she hears the horn, her overthinking mind comes to a halt and she dashes towards the water using her hands as a paddle. Nothing is on her mind except the fact that she's about to show her passion to everyone around her. The crowd doesn't exist, the noise the TV Producers do doesn't exist anymore, and it's only her, the water, the waves and her ability to do magic when they're combined. Riding a wave is like a bird riding on the wind. You can feel nature's energy in the waves as you catch it. You cut through the water and glide effortlessly. Sometimes it bends around you so you can ride inside. It's almost a spiritual feeling of being closer to what made us. Then, just as quick as it came, it dies on the shore. You're hooked, and can't wait to go catch another! Lacey knows what she's feeling and every time she experiences it, she feels like she's dreaming.

As she surfed and surfed, catching the biggest wave of the season, she didn't even get lost in the noise of the people surrounding or the people cheering her on, she was focused on one thing; the wave and the fact that it will end soon.

Just as soon as It came, it was finished and Lacey found herself coming back to shore amidst all the cheers of the people around her, the hysterical screaming of her proud mother made her smile deeply and as she looked up she could see the proud smile her father always saved for competitions like this. She knew then and there that this is the best wave she's caught in a long time. She knew that the competition was in the bag now.

.

.

" _Can you believe that? Wow, Gale, looks Like Lacey hit the Jackpot this wave"_

 _I could certainly believe it John; a surfer like this is quite capable of doing anything"_

" _And there you go folks; advancing into the finals by 2/10's of a point, the big story, Lacey Nichole Taylor. She was looking for an 8.2 and scored a 9 on her last wave. She'll be wearing Green out in the lineup with her good friend, wearing Black, Kylie Kaser. And their competitor whose also rumored to be their rival, Vanessa Jade in White; also, in Yellow, Amara Blanks, in Blue; Sierra Statford, and in Pink; Tessie Pike._

" _It's quiet known that the judges are looking for some progressive surfing today Gale"_

" _That's right, John. They'll have a 25-minute heat, be scored on 10 waves, but they'll keep their best two waves for the final score on the zero to ten point range. And there's the horn and the heat is underway."_

Lacey jogged away from the shore as they were announcing another competitor's name in the mic. She didn't care anymore, all she cared about was the fact that she managed to impress the judges, and she always knew that if her father gave her that encouraging smile of his, she was on front. She knows that she made it.

"Well honey with a face like yours, I highly doubt that you'll be chosen for the selection. Maybe you should try to join Miss Garbage Illea, maybe then there is a huge chance you'll win"

"But-but-bu"

"But-but…don't but me honey, that's just my advice. You wanna get rejected? Cause you will get rejected unless you get a nose-job, a boob-job and some kind of adjustment to your face before taking that photo that will be sent to the castle. My mother is a model, I know face proportions, and yours is blowing it. Have fun in your life."

Lacey knew from the sound of the sobbing that was followed inevitably by the sound of the clattering of things to the floor that she found Kylie, and inevitably, also Tanya. Kylie could easily write down "Bullying all creatures" as her favorite hobby that she does in her free time in her resume. Lacey knows that Kylie only does that to feel better about herself. She claims bullying is her outlet to escape from reality. Because when your parents use you as weapon to fight each other you have to use anything to let go of your anger. Lacey was with her on that, and quite frankly, she never stood up to her and told her to stop bullying people. It's not like she's bullying Lacey. Why should she care?

"Ripper bitch, what's up? I bail you to catch my wave, and I come back to find you all kicking a little girls coit. What's she done now?" Lacey exclaims sort of dramatically to Kylie, her thick Aussie accent revealing her to her two best friends.

"First of all, I can't understand shit of what you just said. And second of all, she was all up in my jam, asking me about how I did my surf and how I did my tricks. And then she's all about how she's gonna enter the selection. What the hell is up with that? Did somebody tell that freak that I'm her shrink now? Why the fuck would I care about her extracurricular activities that include going to suck up to the royal family to be their darling's son daughter in law?"

Lacey could barely contain her laugh when she replied, "Chick, that's a lot of rambling 'n' you're being a wee bit dramatic. So what, a chick is excited give her that. 'n' besides she's a fan. Humor her. Anyway, I'm not here to bust your coit for kicking another whiny bitch's bottom. Did you all see my last surf? I was awesome wasn't I?" Lacey was sure to give them a smirk and a wink. She wasn't joking about being awesome, but she doesn't like to appear too cocky about it, memories of her fucked up fall last year were still etched in her little brain.

"Girl, you were awesome. I wish I could surf like that. You'd definitely win this season and Vanessa what's-her-fucking-face could just eat the dirt. I'm telling you, I ain't down with that bitch on the number one stand again. So you'd better win or else it would be your ass on the line"

Lacey rolled her eyes at her friend and sat down next to Tanya who was still engrossed in her phone, giving an occasional squeak whenever an alert of a new message sounded.

"Again with the dramatics. Chick, don't you like, give it a rest? 'n' Tanya stop with the air-head phase 'n' join the fucking living environment. Who the hell are you talking with?"

Tanya looked at them, blinked twice and then heard another alert and gave another squeal and looked down at her phone.

Lacey raised her eyebrows and ran her hand through her hair before looking at Tanya. "Oh hell no Tanya, you know what, give me that dog 'n' bone! What is wrong with you, are you like talking to Jackson Pitt or something? Stop being so damn blonde 'n' look at me!"

Tanya looked at Lacey confused and then looked down at her curly hair before looking up at Lacey "But, I'm blonde? And what Dog? I gave Coco Chanel to Maverick to walk before I came here..."

Lacey and Kylie looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"You know, you're a real Einstein Tanya."

Tanya looked at both of them for a moment before narrowing her eyes and snatching her phone from Lacey's hand then adding a small high-pitched; "I am NOT"

Lacey and Kylie burst out in giggles again, with Tanya joining in afterwards excitedly asking them where the Joke is.

"The Joke pretty much is said every time you open your mouth Sweetie." Kylie says after she managed to control her laughter. Tanya looked at herself confused before shrugging and turning back to her phone.

"So, tell me; did you see what's-her-face perform already? When I got called in I only had one person before me, you know, that Lettie girl or whatever. The one who has braces covering half of her face."

"Tessie Pike, Kylie. You guys have been training together since preschool. I just met her three years ago 'n' I know her on a first-name basis. Is first name basis that hard to manage?"

Kylie shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Well Brace-face doesn't really contribute much to my life, why would I find space in my memory to memorize her name? I could just settle for brace-face. Her face is engraved in my memory already so it won't take any extra space."

Lacey shook her head at her friend's way of thinking. She was used to Kylie already and even if her way pissed her off, her way of thinking doesn't exactly bother her much to the point that she would actually attempt to call her out on her behavior.

"Ugh speak of the devil guys, why didn't you mention Someone like Greyson Trey or something. At least he has a six pack and he's good to look at!"

Lacey and Kylie looked at each other and raised their eyebrows at Tanya's sudden outburst.

"Tanya Sweetie, remember what we talked about? This little thing about thinking before speaking because sometimes you say irrelevant stuff? We talked about this before."

Lacey laughed about this as Tanya frowned for a moment before looking confused.

"We did?"

Lacey smiled at Tanya before finally spotting who Tanya was referring to and finally understood what she meant.

"Hey Kylie, don't tease her as much. She does have a point."

Kylie looked bored at Lacey who was still staring at the direction where Tanya first gestured to.

"What are you up to now?"

Lacey nodded her head towards the direction, "Look who's charging at us like a fucking Bull who's seen a red sheet."

Kylie finally looked at where she's gesturing and frowned before smiling sinisterly.

"Oh fun, let the games begin."

Lacey smiled at Kylie and looked up just in time to find the whore in white, AKA, Vanessa Jade join them.

"So, you guys actually came back? I mean when I heard your name Casey I thought it was a joke. But apparently you like humiliation more than you let on because you came back after I beat your ass last year."

Tanya looked confused at Vanessa before frowning at Vanessa. "It's Lacey not Casey and you very well know that."

Vanessa rolled her eyes, "Please blondie, don't talk to me, I actually could see my own IQ deteriorating the moment you start opening your mouth."

"If you're such a bigshot why don't you pick on someone your own size, bitchface."

"Sorry Juvie, I don't have time to give you counseling session right now. I'm busy dealing with your joke of a friend here."

Lacey didn't even frown; she leveled Vanessa with a stare of her own and rolled her eyes. Comebacks to Vanessa's snarky comments are close to becoming a full-time job.

"You know the biggest joke is your face 'n' your existence. I seriously feel sorry for your parents because they didn't use protection 'n' now they're stuck with you."

Vanessa's face reddened a bit before she regained her composure. "Says the so-called Australian chick who thinks she's a big-shot. You think you're wanted here? It's your kind who caused the strain in our resources. I personally think that you should just go back to the garbage that you came from."

Lacey's expression didn't falter; she just raised her eyebrows at Vanessa and smirked lightly. "You know I feel sort off sorry for you, it's not every day when you have a face like a bucket of smashed crabs, you're a few roos loose in the top paddock, you're a jit junkie 'n' you're as useless as norks on a bull. It's actually really sad to think about all your bonza features when there's practically none. so if I must go back to the trash I came from, you must go ahead 'n' find yourself a bonza old piece of dog crikey 'n' bury you self underneath it. It would be a perfect place for someone who's a polecat."

Vanessa wasn't sure what half of the words mean, but she knew that she just got insulted a lot from the looks on three girls' faces. Because Vanessa knew that Lacey must've told them all about Australian insults and from the looks on their faces, Lacey just opened the damn dictionary of insults and blew it right into her face. Just as she was about to reply though, a person jogging towards them caught all of their attention and Lacey's face went from a smirk to a frown in less than a second.

"Hey baby, Great wave.. You'll definitely win top prize again."

"Oh thanks, sweetie…I need a favor actually, Why don't you tell Lacey how fugly she looks, maybe she needs reassurance from someone who really got to know her well…"

Lacey wasn't sure what to say, it was the first time in her life where her tongue failed her. If it was only Vanessa she was dealing with, she had no problem lashing out and slamming her down. Meeting her nemesis in the arms of her ex-boyfriend though, is a whole other thing.

Max was smirking a slow smirk as he looked up and down at Lacey's body, making Lacey feel really insecure about herself after three whole months from getting rid of the feeling. Her toxic relationship with Max had a resounding effect on her and she still gets insecure about herself. Finding out just now that he's with her nemesis isn't helping and Lacey really felt like emptying her stomach.

"Oh how exciting, I'm really fascinated to say that I was right. Your taste is exactly the same as your face Slut-essa, fucked up and completely ugly. Yay!" Kylie actually added a fake clap, making Tanya laugh and Vanessa's face to redden.

Vanessa turned and looked at Lacey who was still staring at them and she smirked "cat got your tongue or is it surprise I see? You honestly thought that he was actually into you all those months you were together? Honey, he lost interest in you the moment he saw me five months ago in Billabong's junior's competition, and it's not really a surprise I mean, can't you afford a mirror at your place? Oh wait, I forgot that you're family isn't exactly a two in its own right and you have absolutely no Money…Oops, my bad."

Lacey didn't say anything for a moment before smiling a slow smile. "Congrats, now I see why you broke up with me, why I must thank god that I'm not exactly your type as it seems cum dumpster is your type. Bonza luck with her, it's actually kind of exciting to be dating someone who fell from the whore tree 'n' banged every guy on the way down. Bonza luck with that. Have a ripper fucking life together. Fucktards."

Lacey left them calmly and turned the other way, not showing at all that she was fuming deeply on the inside, she heard footsteps after and spraying of the sand and she knew that Tanya and Lacey joined her.

Before Lacey can actually open her mouth, Tanya gave her a fierce look so unlike herself, "Don't you dare let that low life, white trashy girl get the best of you."

Lacy smiled softly at Tanya while Kylie added offhandedly but completely serious, "Hey, can I go back and pound their faces? I've been looking for a good outlet for days."

Lacey laughed and hugged both of them who held her tightly, Tanya was about to open her mouth when the speaker sounded and they looked towards the podium.

"Now seeing that all of our finalists are done with their final waves, the judges are going to take a moment to decide on who won the latest championship and is going to take the 20,000 cheque home. Finalists, please join me on the podium."

Tanya and Kylie looked at Lacey excitedly and grabbed her hand and they raced towards the podium, Tanya wished them both good-luck before both Kylie and Lacey, hand in hand climbed the stage. To their right, they saw Vanessa smirking. Lacey heard Kylie muttering to herself "If only…" and she felt a grin coming to her face. She knew her violent friend would just love to hit Vanessa in the spot just to make people laugh at her and for it to happen on Live television is actually a bonus.

"The Judges have made their final decisions. Now let us congratulate our top three surfers. Coming in third place is Kylie Kaser!"

Lacey looked at her best friend who shrugged and hugged Lacey tightly, whispering to her in her ears "You've got it." Before shaking hands with John and taking her small trophy and standing on the third place block.

"In second place, with a relatively high score is, last year's championship winner; Vanessa Jade!"

Lacey felt the smirk rise in her face as Vanessa's face reddened as she went over and shook John's hand. She stomped to her second place block and placed a fake smile to the camera, but Lacey could obviously see her tight grip on the trophy and how her teeth appear tight-locked, telling her that all Vanessa wants is throwing the damn thing on John's head.

"And in first place, leading the whole competition with two near perfect scores in the 10-rides; Lacey Nichole Taylor everyone, ultimately winning the 20,000 dollars! Get up here girl and claim your prize!"

Lacey felt her heart burst with Pride as she placed a full-fledged smile on her face as she went over and shook John, Gale's and all the judges' hands before claiming her trophy and her cheque and joining the Kylie and Vanessa on the 1st place block. She smiled as all the camera's flashed from all direction and gave a wave to people. At this point nothing else mattered as she took a look at her Parent's proud faces, she blew a kiss to the crowd and walked down hand in hand with Kylie who calmly said that Lacey had no time for paparazzi as people swarmed around them, making Lacey smirk and laugh at the same time.

Lacey was bombarded with sponsors from all direction the moment she went down from the stage. She saw Tanya running towards both her and Kylie and enveloped them in a hug. Nothing else mattered to Lacey right now. She was in her zone.

"Hey, whoa people, people! Let's stay professional! I'm her freaking agent. All offers to me! Pull your chequebooks and follow me!"

Lacey laughed as all the sponsors followed Kylie in tow. She looked back at her parents who were still waving around, pride shown in their faces. She took Tanya in her hand and went off to meet them. First person to spot her was her father who gave her a huge hug and congratulated her, her mother was next and she had tears in her eyes as she pulled her close causing Lacey to have tears in her own eyes as well. Her brother then in enveloped her in a large bear-hug and kissed her forehead.

"You were amazing little sis. We're all so proud of you."

"Thanks Curtis…For being here for me 'n' for that."

Curtis smiled softly, "Anything for you. You were perfect out there, you deserve it more than anyone who was on that damn podium." He ruffled her hair and stepped away to reveal Blake who smiled softly at Lacey.

"Congrats Lacey, you were really the best."

Lacey smiled, "Thanks Blake, I really appreciate that you came."

Blake smiled and Lacey turned away. It still hurt to see Blake without seeing her sister next to her. Blake was her sister's best friend, and you would hardly see one without seeing the other in tow. Sydney passed away a couple of years ago from Cancer and it was still hard to see Blake sometimes. Lacey liked her but she isn't close to her at all.

"Hey, Kylie is seriously acting as your agent; maybe you should go tell them that she's not serious before she fucks everything up…"

Lacey laughed and waved at her family before joining Tanya as they went over to Kylie who still seemed to be negotiating some sort of a deal with someone.

" _Alright, alright. She's in, but we gotta see the billboards you want her to participate in coming soon. Or I'll be seriously thinking of investing my time in another sponsor."_

Lacey laughed as the Sponsor from Spencer's Swimwear looked alarmed at the thought and gave a short nod to Kylie before congratulating Lacey and telling her that he's so excited that he would be working for her and then taking off.

"You scared the bloke half to death, how many sponsors have you treated the same way?" Lacey said laughing, Kylie smirked her sinister smirk and Lacey felt alarmed.

"Hey, I got you seven sponsors that way. It works like a charm, so I'm keeping it."

Lacey shook her head at her friend's spunk and was about to say something when a couple of footsteps alarmed her of someone else's appearance.

"Wow, Lacey, bitchface returned. So pray tell, how does second place feel? "

Kylie said to the still red-faced Vanessa. Vanessa though paid no attention to Kylie and looked at Lacey.

"Just so you know, Ugly duckling, that even after your big win, you're forgetting a little thing. Listen up, Even if you won a hundred competitions, remember that I will always have one thing that you will never have. Look in the mirror and aknowledge it fugly, I have a pretty enough face to attract anyone I want and actually keep who I attract with me, unlike yourself. So even if you're winning now, you'll never win at life. White trash"

Before Lacey could even think of a retort, she heard Kylie exclaim suddenly exclaim "That's it!" and in a second, she swerved her arms, catching Vanessa by surprise and punching her square in the nose. A resounding crack telling all of them that she broke it.

"You were saying?" Kylie turned to Lacey who was busy looking at Vanessa who was clutching her bloody nose and rolling on the sand in agony, yelling to anyone to call 911.

Lacey smiled slowly and shook her head while Tanya looked gingerly on the ground at Vanessa and then looked up at Kylie. "Hey Keke, remind me not to ever mess with you, I'm kinda attached to my nose."

Kylie smirked but looked at Lacey who was still lost in thought and gave her a fierce look, "You'll join Skank-face on the ground if you even think of believing a word she said."

Lacey shakes her head slowly and looks at Kylie and shrugs, "while I don't exactly believe her, she does make a straight point."

Kylie looks at her fist again and prepares to swerve it

Lacey shakes her head smiling, "Keke, stop being dramatic."

Kylie shakes her head, "If you want me stop being dramatic, stop listening to ridiculous bullshit."

The three of them start walking slowly towards the beach, the crowd was already dissipating and soon enough no one would be at the beach.

"It's actually kind off a downer that surfing season was over. We have nothing to do for the coming six-month."

Kylie shook her head snorting, "Well, if take bullying people and beating them up as a hobby, trust me, you'll days will never be boring." Lacey rolled her eyes as the three of them lay on the sand. Just when Tanya was about to open her mouth they were interrupted by the sound of arguing coming from behind them. Kylie and Lacey recognized the girl; it was one of their team-mates; Sierra Statford. She was joined with a handsome guy who looked a little bit older and he was red-faced and angry.

" _You can't just do that Sierra! What about us? Does this mean anything to you?"_

" _Xander, I need to support my family! You know how it is! Jackson's leg being busted makes him unable to play soccer in the leagues like before. Savannah isn't winning any Gymnastics competitions because we can't afford any coaches and Dean and Hadley are too young! I was hoping I could win today but you know how that turned out. If the selection is the only way then I have to do it. Whether I like it or not!"_

" _I LOVE you Sierra, please don't do this to us…"_

" _And I LOVE YOU. But there's nothing I can do about it. And being in love doesn't pay the bills. I'm so sorry…"_

The three girls watched their teammate run away crying and the guy- Xander taking a stone and throwing it angrily in the water before stomping in the other direction. After a few minutes of silence, it was Kylie who spoke up.

"Well that was certainly fun to watch. What a fucking wimp."

Tanya laughed at Kylie's words but Lacey got a thoughtful look in her eyes that slowly turned into a full blown smile.

"You okay there crazy pants?"

Lacey looked up at both girls who held a questioning look in their eyes.

"I thought about something just now. You know, to pass the time."

"Partying?" Tanya said, already seemingly excited about the idea.

"No…I would join the selection."

For a while both girls looked at her weirdly until Tanya bursts out laughing and Kylie confusingly puts her hand on her forehead, "has the sun finally managed to fry your brains?'

Lacey batted away her hand and looked at them seriously. "I'm actually serious."

Tanya was still smiling though; "I still think it's a Joke, Keke. She's messing with us"

"I don't think so Tan-Tan, she actually looks serious..." Kylie gives Lacey another questioning look.

"What's all this about joining the Selection? Cause you actually seem serious."

"Why do both of you think it's a joke?" Lacey exclaims calmly.

Both girls exchange looks before Tanya looks at Lacey, "it's just hard to imagine you of all people in dresses and in jewelry all coupled with acting all royal and stiff. It's just not you."

Lacey rolled her eyes at the description. "For years the selection was made to make a chick that is nothing into everything, why would I be any different?"

Kylie shook her head and looked at Lacey, "it's not about that Lacey, I just think that you might be taking whatever Skanky McSkankerson said about you to heart and I don't like that."

Lacey shook her head at the idea, "I actually decided that because I really have absolutely nothing to do for the coming months. The next surfing gig is in about 6 months 'n' till then; we won't have enough money in our household. You know how it is Kylie; my parents aren't rich cable T.V presenters. My old-man is a former professional Surfer who's long and forgotten 'n' my old-girl was a professional swimmer who stopped swimming about 12 years ago. I'm technically the main source of income. If the selection can remedy that problem, I'm down with it. "

For a while, both girls didn't say anything, after a few minutes though Kylie started speaking. "I don't like this, but if you're through with it, I'll support you in whatever it takes. Just remember that if the all-mighty Prince turns out to be a douchebag who breaks your heart, I'm all down to go Kung-Fu Panda on his ass. I don't care that he's the Prince. Nobody messes with my friends."

Lacey smiled and hugged her friend and looked at Tanya who was looking at Lacey thoughtfully.

"Tan-Tan, are you okay?"

"I'm just thinking that if you want to apply for the selection, with this look, you've got no chance. Let's go over to my house. I'll prep you up my way."

Lacey smiled widely and hugged Tanya as well. The three girls moving in a faster pace towards Tanya's mansion which was actually situated on the beach and was a few minutes' walk.

Tanya easily worked her magic on Lacey the moment she went out of the shower. She worked on her makeup, her hair, and even waxed her body. When she was done, Lacey hardly recognized herself. She stood in front of the mirror and lightly placed a hand on her own cheeks, hardly believing that this is actually her.

"Are you done flirting with yourself, Chica? Cause you have an application to fill."

Lacey smirked at Kylie who while Tanya was giving Lacey a makeover, went over to Lacey's house and managed to smuggle her application, after Lacey told her that she doesn't want her parents to know anything about her decision right now.

"Here you go…Don't leave a space empty. At least, that's what they say in the guidelines on the other paper."

Lacey took the Application and went over it before writing down her information.

 _Full Name: Lacey Nichole Taylor_

 _Age: 16 1/2_

 _Province: Clermont_

 _Caste: 2_

 _Occupation: Professional Surfer_

 _Height: 5'7"_

 _Weight: 115 lbs._

 _Eyes: Coconut brown eyes_

 _Hair: Elbow-length Straight dirty blonde hair._

 _Ethnicity: Australian_

 _Skin Tone:_ _Very, very, very tanned_

 _Languages Spoken: English, French and a little Spanish._

Lacey looked up the moment she finished her application. She gave her two best friends' a-thumbs up and they ushered her quickly out of the room and they run all the way to the post-office who as relatively close.

When it came to Lacey's turn to have her photo, she looked up at the cameraman and remembering her latest victory, she gave her fullest smile as the camera snapped.

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 **How was that? I hope this VERY long chapter makes up for the late update. I'm really sorry for the long time I took. I'll try to update sooner next time. Please tell me what you thought in your reviews and a big thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter and Favorited the story and followed it. You guys gave me inspiration. A big thank you to everyone who submitted till now. I'm changing the rules; you could submit girls until I'm finished with the introductions. That will take me about five other chapters. So please submit! Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to tell me your thoughts in your reviews and your favourite(s) of the girls so far!**


	5. When Will I Ever Let Go

**When Will I Ever Let Go?**

 **Beta'd by the amazing Foreverme98**

 **The Selected in this chapter are:**

 **Naya Jennifer Edmunds** **Submitted by: xxKeepyourenemiesclosexx**

 **Carolina Joy Bennett** **Submitted by: Jenhen48**

 **Thea Aileen Marshall** **Submitted by: morethanjustastory**

 **Thank you guys for your amazing characters!**

 **Now on to the chapter!**

 **Naya Jennifer Edmunds**

" _We Love you Jenny!"_

" _Please Jennifer one more song!"_

" _Sing True Colors, Jen, Please!"_

All that and other numerous shouts echoed throughout the crowd, and all Naya could do was give them a smile. The thrill of being on stage hadn't changed one bit and it still left her feeling exhilarated. She waved and the crowd went wild. She heard plenty of other exclamations from multiple people urging her to stay and perform other songs.

One glance at her manager/brother, Caleb, however, told her that she had exceeded her time, which had ended about an hour and a half ago. She also felt a tad bit guilty because Fae Valentine was supposed to take her place on stage ages ago.

"I'm so sorry, guys! I love you all, and I wish I could stay, but my time is up! Be sure to come to my next concert. And remember my tour starts in two months!"

Naya waved at the cheering crowd and left the stage for the presenter to take over.

"Girl, I can never get over how much the crowd loves you. If only they knew that under that fiery, popstar persona lies a girl who became a popstar by mere chance…" Daisy started smiling and winking at Naya who just grinned and rolled her eyes, already used to having to deal with Daisy's little speech.

Daisy and Cecilia were both kind enough to remind her of that little fact after each and every successful concert.

"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you, Monster Mom is wreaking havoc with the organizers because you took an extra hour with the crowd. Last time I checked she was ripping the stage manager a new one," Cecilia said, rolling her eyes.

Naya bit her lip; she knew that messing with Fae Valentine's schedule could get her in serious trouble with her manager and her mom. She had taken that chance, though. "Well, where is Fae? I would like to apologize for the whole thing."

Daisy and Cecilia exchanged glances, "While I know that Fae would appreciate the sentiment, I don't think that's a good idea, sweetie…"

Naya cocked her head to the side and frowned as Cecilia continued, "If her mom found you anywhere near her, she'll probably accuse you of conspiring to bomb the place. Heaven knows, that woman is bat-shit crazy."

"…Yeah, I once heard that she got a make-up team fired because she saw the head make-up artist's twin sister with that crazy model, Cece, or whatever-her-name-was."

Cecilia laughed. "Apparently, mommy dearest thought that both make-up artists were in the league with Cece and wanted to make her daughter look bad. Trust me; that woman is not in her right mind."

Naya rolled her eyes at the big deal her friends' were making. She couldn't be that bad, could she? "You guys are blowing this way out of proportion. I just want to apologize; I'm not a suicide bomber, and besides you said her mom was already busy yelling her head off. I'll make it quick."

Naya left both girls and walked down the hallway that led to the dressing rooms. Finding the one labeled 'Fae', she was just about to knock when she heard a rough voice on the other side that stopped her in her tracks.

"If you can't stop being the soft-hearted individual you are, then I'll make you! No weak person makes it in show business. To have some low-life up and take your time isn't something that should be taken lying down, do you understand me? I won't tolerate losers in this family, Fae. We're winners, winners! Do you hear me? Take a look at your father when you want to see what happens when a loser approaches what's mine. Now get ready and stop being sloppy!"

Naya found herself unconsciously backing away from the door, and when she heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side, she swiftly hid behind a border. Less than three seconds later, the door was roughly pushed open, and Fae's mom stalked outside stomping her foot like a spoiled child.

Naya stared at her retreating figure, horrified by what she'd just heard. How could that woman call herself a mom? How could anyone be that cruel to their child?

"Don't worry; she won't come near the dressing room until I finish my show. I got her a little paranoid a couple of years back when I told her that I needed to be on my own at least 10 minutes before being up on stage, or else I might forget the lyrics. It's a stupid lie, but it does give me a little more peace of mind."

Naya abruptly turned around to see a smiling Fae. It made Naya really uneasy to be caught eavesdropping, but if Fae actually knew of that little fact, it didn't show on her face. Her smile was as big as they come, and while her eyes had a hard look to them, her smile seemed genuine.

"I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to take your time…It's just-"

Fae waved away her apology, still smiling, "Hey, you can't help that the crowd loves you. Honestly, I think you're much better than me. My mom is freaking out because she knows that too. She didn't neglect to tell me that a couple of times either. It's no biggie, though; I'm a fan of yours as well."

Naya smiled at Fae's kindness and her strength. If Naya she were in the same position, she'd have crumbled under such a cruel, controlling person like Fae's mother. It didn't escape her notice that Fae had to deal with her mother every minute of every day. Naya couldn't stand to be in her presence for more than two minutes... Such thoughts made Naya's respect for Fae grow even more.

"I just wanted to apologize, though. I really didn't mean to take your time."

Fae smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I loved your new album by the way. I wanted to contact the writers who wrote it, but I was told that you wrote it yourself. I loved all the songs, it's like you're speaking from your heart."

Naya smiled a little sadly and nodded her head. In truth, her lyrics really were from her heart. Every sad song spoke directly of her own heartbreak. That's why most people who heard the songs were entranced by them. Naya felt the songs more than she actually sang them. The album was mostly appraised because of the way she sang it, not because of the lyrics themselves.

"If you wanted, I could help you write your new album. I'm always up for a challenge."

Naya smiled at Fae who nodded her head. Naya's phone beeped, distracting her from the other girl. She found a text message from Daisy urging her to hurry up, and she sighed. "Well, good luck, in the concert; I know that the crowd loves you and can't wait to hear from you."

Fae smiled, "Yeah, thanks. You know, we should hang out sometime."

"I'd love that," Naya replied sincerely. "Bye, Fae. Good luck!"

"Thanks, Jennifer. I'll see you later."

Naya nodded her head and left. She made her way towards the back door, knowing that her brother's car was probably already parked back there. As soon as she made it into the car, she finally reached out and plucked the wig off her head.

"Oh my god, I was close to suffocating; that thing is really uncomfortable," she grumbled, sighing.

Her brother Caleb exchanged a look with his twin brother and Naya's other manager, Calvin, and shook his head. "You're the one who's putting yourself in this position, Naya. I told you ages ago that the whole double life thing is becoming really stressful. Why not reveal to the crowd once and for all that Naya Edmunds is also the one and only Jennifer Grace? Don't you think that it's time? Come on, it's been two years!"

Naya sighed. They'd had this conversation too often lately. It was starting to become a tradition. Calvin, Caleb, Daisy, and Cecelia liked to urge her to 'come out' to the crowd as Naya, and it always ended with Naya telling them that she couldn't.

"When are you going to finally tell people? Or are you actually going to keep this act up till the day you die? I support you whole-heartedly, Naya, but this whole thing is seriously taking a toll on you," Calvin continued.

"I mean, who knew that one little lie at a masquerade ball in high school, would somehow expand to become the biggest lie of your life…" Cecilia said, rolling her eyes as Daisy nodded beside her.

"Can't you at least tell us when you're planning on telling people the truth?"

Naya's thoughts settled on the one person she hated thinking about- the boy's image shone brightly in her mind's eye. She lifted her head to find four faces looking back at her, all of them waiting for her response. "When I'm ready," she replied. "I'll say it's me when I'm ready."

" _Ready for what, Naya? Heaven knows, you say that every time. And somehow, that time never comes…"_ Calvin mumbled the last part under his breath.

Naya closed her eyes, too tired to deal with the burden she knew she placed on the people closest to her. She was adamant, though; she knew what the consequences of 'revealing' her true self would be. And she wasn't ready to face the music just yet.

' _When I'm ready to let go…'_ Naya thought to herself as they finally reached their mansion _._

" _I'm not sure if cream goes well with maroon. I'm partially color-blind. At least, that's what my mom tells me. What do you think?"_

" _I think they mesh well. I really believe Naya could be the tie-breaker..."_

" _Yeah. you're right._ Hey, Yaya, can you come here for a second?"

The three girls were busy forming new designs for the upcoming fall line. Having a double life forced Naya to have another job as her true self. She, Cecilia, and Daisy came up with Astrid, which was a brand name for their preppy clothing style, a year after they graduated from high school. It was a major success and more people starting buying it every day. Just a couple of weeks ago, they had shipped a brand new line made specifically for the Princesses' tastes. Business had been booming since then.

Naya found it quite ironic that she managed to excel at both fields- fashion designing and singing. Her friends, however, found her cynical behavior towards both of her successes quite irritating.

"Yaya? Naya, where are you?"

Naya was barely listening; she was standing there, staring at her phone as she reread the words on the screen over and over again.

' _Jan is dating Nydia, or so Angelique just told us. You really need to get over this, Naya; he's not worth it.'_

Naya had tears forming in her eyes as she reread the text again, her mind still barely registering it to be true.

"Naya?"

She heard Daisy and Cecilia's footsteps as they approached her, and she vaguely felt them crowd her as she continued to stare at the screen.

"What's wrong?" they asked.

Wordlessly, Naya gave Cecilia her phone and left them to head for the bathroom, where a few moments later, they heard a sob.

"This Jan thing is getting way out of hand; I mean, come on, it's been two years! What? Did she expect him to remain celibate until he uncovered her secret?" Cecilia whispered to Daisy who just shook her head.

"I know Cece, but still...He was her first love, and technically the real reason behind all of her success. I mean, without Jan, Naya would have never become Jennifer in the first place," Daisy replied.

"I know but still…"

Daisy glanced at the bathroom door, worried, "No matter what, we should tread carefully with her. This whole thing is going to take a huge toll on her and you know it."

"Yeah, I know…"

Moments later the bathroom door opened and both girls stopped talking- they were taking in Naya's puffy red eyes and her blotchy tear-stained face. The quickly went over to her and engulfed her in a hug, causing Naya to start sobbing again.

"It's going to be okay, honey. Give it time. The pain will go away eventually. Everything's going to be okay…"

Naya cried harder than before and Cecilia started rubbing circles on her back, her eyes slowly becoming moist; knowing how much her best friend was in pain, left her in pain as well. "We're here for you sweetie, we'll always be here for you."

A few minutes later she excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Daisy and Cecilia alone to think.

"You know what? That Jan is 6 feet of insidious snark with a damn ponytail, and I just wanna grab it and I wanna yank it really, really hard."

Cecilia chuckled darkly at Daisy's threat and shook her head. She knew that hurting Jan wouldn't make Naya feel better. The only thing that would probably make Naya feel better is Jan falling in love with her. Even if she didn't want to admit it out loud, Cecilia knew that her friend never stopped loving the guy she almost got together with in high school.

"Anger management, much? Trust me, if hurting Jan would be the answer to all our prayers then I would've definitely cut off his damn ponytail a long time ago- I wouldn't just yank it hard. Naya needs to get over him, though. That's the only thing that's going to help her. Well, that and the other impossible thing…"

Daisy looked at Cecilia, confused. "What other thing?"

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Jan actually falling in love with her."

Daisy was about to respond when she suddenly shut her mouth and cocked her head to the side before sighing and agreeing. "Yeah, it is impossible."

Cecilia opened her mouth to say something when the bathroom door opened and they found Naya hurrying towards the storage room. Both girls shared a questioning look with each other before following her to the room at the back of the store, only to find her holding up a piece of paper with a strange look on her face. Her eyes were still puffy, but her face was clear of any sign of tears.

"Um…Naya? Are you okay?"

Slowly, Naya nodded her head and lifted up her eyes to stare at both of her friends " _Yeah…and I'm entering The Selection_."

Cecilia gave her a look of confusion while Daisy just shook her head. "Seriously, Naya, are you sure you're okay?"

Again, Naya nodded her head and glanced at the paper in her hands before looking back up at her friends. "I decided to join The Selection."

That time Cecilia raised her eyebrows and gave Naya a look. "Wait, so I actually heard that right? You're joining the royal breeding contest?"

Naya gave her a look and shook her head. "Yeah, you heard right."

"Wait, what?" Daisy exclaimed.

Naya approached them. "It's not too crazy is it?"

"Crazy? Naya, you were just sobbing your heart out because you found out that the guy you- might I remind you- love, has a new girlfriend. You then leave us, enter the bathroom, cry your eyes out, and then heaven forbid, you get an epiphany while staring at your teary eyes in the mirror. You rush out of the bathroom, fly into the storage room and clutch The Selection form as if your life depended on it, and suddenly claim that you want to enter a damn contest that chooses the future wife of the future king. Am I leaving anything out?"

Both girls stared at Cecilia who was too busy glaring at Naya. She waited for Naya to shake her head before continuing her rant, "Let's see if I'm catching what you're throwing at us… You want, to enter that bloody breeding contest while you're still in love with a loser, just to prove to yourself that you're trying to get over him. Am I getting the gist of it here?"

Naya rolled her eyes, and said, "It sounded much better in my head but, yeah, pretty much."

Daisy finally caught on to the whole thing and just shook her head. "I have just one thing to say to you…Are you out of your mind?"

"Well, my mother claims she dropped me once on my head as a baby…" she teased, trying to make light of the situation. Her friends, however, weren't having any of it.

"Are you sure it was only once?" Cecilia asked.

Naya stared at the application, not saying a word.

"Naya, please, take a moment and think about this. You're being too rash!"

Naya smiled a little and just shrugged, "I thought about it, and it's perfect!"

Cecilia finally blew up, " Dude, are you crazy?"

Naya closed her eyes and sighed. "Cece…"

Cecilia wasn't ready to hear what Naya had to say, and continued, "Don't you 'Cece' me! You're going to risk your entire career because of a boy? You have a tour that starts in two months, two months, Naya! What, is he, like, I don't know, a GQ model in disguise and we're failing to take notice?"

For a moment Naya stared at Cecilia, and then violently she shook her head., "He's not a GQ model!"

Cecilia mumbled something under her breath, her anger clearly not subsiding. "I realize that, chica. He's not even…ugh, he's not even worth it, not to mention, he's not even hot!

The last comment finally made Daisy take notice of their conversation, "Don't say that to her!"

Cecilia's face became horrified. "Please don't tell me you're infected by his so called charmness, and I'm the only who's not a mutant here…"

Daisy just sighed. "Ah, no, but if you tell her he isn't attractive, she's gonna launch into another story about how hot he is to her, and I really don't need the migraine."

"You guys are great, mood-lifting friends- has anybody ever told you guys that before?" Naya asked, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

Cecilia let out a breath and approached her. "Naya, you can't do this. I mean, you have a tour in two months, you just confirmed it yesterday in that concert. I mean, what happened to 'my career is everything to me' and 'I would die if someone found out my secret', because let me tell you, this crazy stunt will definitely reveal who you are."

Naya just stared at her two best friends. "I need this guys. I need a break. Honestly, if I stay here knowing that…that…Jan and her are together, I'll lose my mind."

Both girls shared a look. Daisy nodded at Cecilia who frowned and closed her eyes. "Okay, look, Naya, we're going to support you in whatever you do. We just, we think that joining The Selection right now might be a little extreme."

Naya didn't say anything.

"But…" Daisy stopped when Cecilia gave her a look. She ignored it, and continued, "But, if you think that joining is the best thing for you right now, then we'll support you 100%. We love you, Naya, and we want what's best for you and if The Selection is what you think is best for you right now, then we'll be there for you."

Naya looked at both girls- Cecilia, albeit grudgingly, nodded her head, "We love you, chica, and yeah, Dede here is right, we've got your back, even if we happen to think that this decision is whacked up and completely crazy…ouch!"

Naya whipped her head up to find Cecilia massaging her arms. "I swear your damn elbow feels like sharp knives, you little…pixie!" Cecilia grumbled at Daisy who rolled her eyes in response.

"Now, what are we waiting for, shouldn't you be filling out this form?"

Naya smiled gratefully at Daisy and hurried to find a pen. While she was gone, Cecilia finally made eye-contact with Daisy, "Are you really on board with the whole 'I want to join The Selection' plan? Doesn't it sound crazy?"

Daisy shrugged and looked away. "Yeah, look, I know what you're thinking, and yeah, it is crazy but you've seen how fragile she looked. She needs something to take her mind off Loser 101, and besides, who said she'll be chosen anyway? Do you know how many girls apply for that shit contest?"

Cecilia saw Daisy's point but was held back from retorting when Naya came back with a pen in her hand. "You guys ready?" She looked at them with a small smile on her face and both girls smiled back and nodded.

"Okay, let's get this over with…"

 _Full Name: Naya Jennifer Edmunds_

 _Age: 19 1/2_

 _Province: Denbeigh_

 _Caste: 2_

 _Occupation: Fashion Designer_

 _Height: 5'2"_

 _Weight: 112 Lbs._

 _Eyes: Sky Blue_

 _Hair: Bright Blonde_

 _Ethnicity: Multi-Racial_

 _Skin Tone: Pale_

 _Languages Spoken: English, Spanish, Arabic, Persian and a little French  
_

"All done!" Naya said, looking up from her Selection form.

Both girls gave it a look and nodded. "Now we just need to go to the office to take your picture and mail it to the palace."

"Okay, let's do that right now!" Naya said, already pulling out her shoes and putting them on.

"Excited, aren't we?" Daisy observed, smiling a little.

Naya just shrugged, not saying anything.

"Don't worry, Naya, Prince Kendrick won't know what hit him. You're a double threat. I mean, you managed to make it in both major industries that define Two's…"

Naya smiled a little "Yeah…"

She gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did, her thoughts kept drifting back to the dark-haired, dark-eyed boy who relentlessly invaded her dreams. She may be applying for The Selection to forget him, but she wasn't sure if she was going to succeed or not. Luck hadn't exactly been in her favor.

" _ **When will I ever let go…"**_

 **Carolina Joy Bennett**

"All right, almost finished!"

"You heard her people, Last Shot. Check the lighting Conrad!"

Caroline adjusted her lens one last time and took notice of the lighting falling on the model in front of her before slowly sliding her ring finger (One of her weird perks) slowly taking the last picture of the day. It was a regular day today so thankfully she won't be arriving late and so would hopefully be able to catch the bus back home.

She carefully readjusted her Camera and quickly but efficiently took a couple of snaps without quivering once. She then smiled satisfied before yelling "Nat!"

And the model immediately relaxed her posture and smiled serenely, her previous mechanical pose fading away. Carolina took advantage of that and smiled to herself as she immediately snapped her fingers quickly to capture as much photos as possible. She knows that while orderly poses were more professional, it's the natural poses that are mostly sought after from magazines. She opted to do both when her neighbour and Part-time model Cynthia Wrena asked specifically for her help. She can't for the life of her figure out how Cynthia managed to find out about her photographing skills.

Carolina never brags about it, but she does know that she's has impressive photographing skills. If she takes her father's and most of her father's clients word for it.

She smiled one last smile before finally taking the last shot and waving her hand in a "Stop!" Motion at Cynthia's crew. Cynthia was immediately surrounded by her makeup artist and her assistant and Carolina let out a breath in relief that the day was over. As much as she likes photographing in general, Carolina specialises in Nature photography. They also prove to be popular with her father's clients at the gallery which is a bonus.

"Alright People, that's a wrap. I want the place spotless in 15!"

Carolina quickly went over to her "dressing" room and changed from her jeans into more comfortable sweats and picked up another T-shirt because the one she's wearing was getting too sweaty before quickly gathering up all her stuff, ensuring that she hasn't missed anything and carrying her two bags and closing the lights.

The moment she was outside, she found herself in front Cynthia who was obviously waiting for her.

"Thank you so very much for doing this! And out of schedule too, you're a life-saver!"

Carolina smiled at the beautiful and Slender model in front of her, not quite sure what to say. It was always a challenge for her to speak to people she doesn't know well. Being introverted all her life proved to be quiet disconcerting when it came to getting to know people or even...replying to people.

"It was okay, I didn't mind. I hope you like the shots. I'll send them over as soon as they come in."

"Aw you're such a sweetheart!"

Cynthia's shrill overly girly voice distracted her for a second before the other girl grabbed her in a spontaneous hug and Carolina being the 'Not-so-Touchy-Feely person, awkwardly patted her on the back, obviously not sure what else to do.

"Here, I added even more than you charged cause you're actually one of the easiest photographers to work with. I'll tell all my friends about you. Gawd, you didn't make me feel unsettled for one second."

Carolina couldn't help noticing though, that the girl didn't add Extra, she added more than extra. The Envelope actually felt heavy in her hands.

"Oh my, that's too much, I don't deser-"

Cynthia waved her hand dismissing what Carolina was saying and smiled.

"No honey, you really deserve this, with any luck your photos of me will be featured in Miss IIlea Next issue. I'm actually confident that will happen so I should be grateful for you."

Carolina gave her a huge smile and thanked her again and Cynthia took it as a reason to hug her again. Cynthia felt a little uncomfortable but smiled at the girl after she released her. She was getting to leave again before Cynthia stopped her asking her if she needs a ride. Carolina was ready to start protesting when Cynthia's assistant, with a signal from her, took Carolina's stuff and Cynthia told her she's going to put them in the car for her. Carolina didn't have a choice but to follow Cynthia to her private car. It was better, Carolina though, much better than taking the bus and arriving in two hours because of the jammed route the bus always takes. She relaxed in her seat as Cynthia chatted to her about her upcoming modelling gigs and Carolina tried her best to look interested. She always had a certain "I-Have-No-idea-what-you're-talking-about" attitude when she meets models and actors. She can't seem to get the dynamic of their jobs and almost all celebrities of that sort turn out to be incredibly snobby. Cynthia was not snobby by all means so Carolina tried her hardest to look interested. She wished her "interested" face doesn't come of as constipated.

When they came to Carolina's stop, Carolina was both relieved and thankful. Heaven knows if she had followed through with taking the bus, she wouldn't have arrived for at least two more hours.

She thanked Cynthia Profusely and climbed put of the car, promising Cynthia to keep in touch. She ran up her front porch and without knocking she opened the door and yelled "I'm home" then she ran straight to her room.

Moments later she was joined by her mother who looked happy and relieved to see her.

"Oh Carrie, you came just in time"

Carolina took one look at her mother and sighed, she knew that there's was definitely no resting time for her after this.

"What is it mom?"

Her mother sighed, "It's your father dear, he has to run a few errands and deliver paintings to clients but all of his assistants are not available to look after the gallery when he's gone. Flynn is away doing god knows what, and your sisters are out. Can you drop by the gallery for an hour or two? I'll send Flynn over when he comes back"

Carolina sighed but nodded. She knew how much the Gallery meant to her father and she doesn't want to disappoint him, and after that incident, she doesn't want to take any chances.

She's been avoiding going there for a while ever since that day with him.

"Him" refers to Ryan Leland. A guy who, for a while was at the gallery almost every day that he eventually sparked up a friendship with Flynn. It didn't exactly involve Carolina at first but as his visits became more frequent, she found herself falling slowly for him, even though he literally didn't know she existed. By mere chance, his family hosted a party and wanted to a professional photographer and Flynn nominated her to Ryan, who agreed. Ever since that party, Ryan would pass by their gallery every day to start some conversation with her. For a few weeks, Carolina was over the moon for the attention. Being shy and introverted didn't exactly make her noticeable in the eyes of the opposite sex. She was always the type to blend in. Her sisters however were the exact opposite and that made her invisible sometimes, even at her house.

Ryan found her interesting for a while, and they actually went on a coffee date once or twice. That was until two weeks ago.

She was closing up the shop and Ryan came in, the slur in his voice didn't escape Caroline and she cautiously asked him if he was drunk. He didn't reply and instead he grabbed her and kissed her. In other circumstances, Caroline would have been thrilled, but Ryan's sloppy intoxicated kiss was far from thrilling. In fact, it made her want to puke. She tried pushing him away a couple of times but he was much larger and stronger than her. It would have been much worse if Flynn hadn't come in at the right moment to see Carolina struggling. He decked Ryan and warned him about coming back. In turn, Ryan promised that the gallery is going to come down if his family has anything to say about it.

Carolina was horrified because she knew that Ryan comes from an influential family of twos. If he had something to say, the gallery would close down and her father would lose all his clients. She has been cautious ever since that day, knowing that, at any given time, that asshole would come back and take his revenge. So she didn't argue with her mother. Her mother in turn, kissed her forehead and smiled.

Carolina managed to make it to the gallery in five minutes to see her sister there. She rolled her eyes, now she knew why her mother decided against calling her older sister. Waverley had the attention span of a five year old. Now, for instance, instead of watching the gallery, she was using the home-phone to call her friends, and she was also texting with one hand, and putting on lipgloss with her other one.

"Oh you're soooo kidding me!"

Carolina rolled her eyes again but smiles and waved. Waverley in turn waved enthusiastically and quickly finished the call and then bounced up to her.

"Oh my god Callie! You won't believe what happened!"

Carolina knew better than to roll her eyes and tell her what she expected so she just smiled at her and looked at questioningly.

"So, Janine was just with me on the phone and believe it or not! Bethany just broke up with Stefan to join the selection! Can you believe that?"

Carolina could certainly believe that because she knows for a fact that Waverley's friends were all equally shallow. For her sister's sake though, she appeared shocked at the news.

"Wasn't Stefan planning on proposing? Wow...that's just bad!"

Waverley giggled, "I know, right! Janine's furious with Bethany. Cause you know, Janine was planning on entering herself and you know Bethany.. She's a two while Janine's a four. So Bethany has much better chances."

Carolina nodded not really caring. She was tempted to enter the selection herself but every time she grabs the form and starts filling it, she backs out five minutes later.

"You know, I was actually planning on entering myself... It won't be a bad experience and my age is just below the cutoff so it would be nice since if another selection came along, I won't be able to apply.."

"Actually Vivi that's a great idea, why don't you?"

Carolina smiled at her sister who appeared thoughtful.

"Actually, you applying might take Dakota off my back. She's been pestering me for days about applying."

Carolina added. It was then when a smile appeared on Waverley's face and she smiled dubiously at Carolina who in turn looked weary.

"What? Just what's going on in that psycho mind of yours?"

Waverley just smiled before saying, "okay, I'll do it. But you're doing it with me!"

Caroline looked at her like she's crazy and scoffed.

"Oh no, I don't think so."

"Come on Carrie! Please do it for me! I don't want to go and take that picture alone!"

Carolina rolled her eyes, "I'll go with you to the post office, but I won't enter myself."

Waverley looked at her from beneath her eyelashes and Carolina groaned.

"Pleaaase pretty please Callie! do it for me!"

Carolina huffed in impatience, "ughh Fine! Okay, I'll do it with you. But don't expect me to be madly happy about it!

Wavered squealed, "yay, okay, I have the forms right here." She took out the forms from the drawer and Carolina raised her eyebrows.

"Were you actually planning on forcing me to enter?"

Waverley smirked, "well you gotta admit, I do nail down the talent of persuasion." Carolina rolled her eyes but smiled. She took the form from her sister and began filling it.

Full Name: Carolina Joy Bennett

Age: 19

Province: Kent

Caste: 5

Occupation: photographer

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 115 Lbs

Eyes: Bright Ocean Blue

Hair: Blonde

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Skin Tone: Pale

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish and Italian

She looked at down at the form and smiled to herself.

 _"Maybe this won't be bad after all..."_

 **Thea Aileen Marshall**

"You need to calm down, that bastard is not even worth it"

Thea looked up when she managed to distinguish the voice of one of her best friends at the doorway. When that was followed by crying, Thea knew for sure that both girls were her friends. Looking up, she found Jensen trying to console a hysterical looking Laurel. "Trying" being the key word because all Laurel did in return for the so-called consolation was to sob harder.

"What's going on here?" Thea wasn't a stranger when it came to Laurel crying. She did it on an almost daily basis. The last month was actually one of the hardest on Laurel, ever since she started seeing that dickhead of a boyfriend.

"It's…its Jet; she caught him and Cece Maxwell in a rather…compromising position"

Thea raised her eyebrows and looked at them thoughtfully, "on a scale from one to a brothel complete with three naked women, how in flagrante delicto are we talking?"

Jensen tried not to smirk at Thea's choice of words, "I think we could skip the scale part and just say that her screams of his name could be heard two buildings away."

Thea rolled her eyes and looked at Laurel who was still sobbing her heart out. On her part, she felt really upset because her friend was passing through that, but since her tongue has a mind of its own, she muttered the one thing that wasn't supposed to be said.

"I told you from the very start that the-stupidly-named Jet Dickhead was not even worth it."

Laurel cried even harder and Jensen threw Thea a small glare and Thea went back and checked her words and sighed. She knew she had to install a filter someday.

"I say we skip this little I-told-you-so conversation that's bubbling up and focus on the girl crying her eyes out." Jensen said, gesturing towards Laurel who was still holding Jensen's shirt as a lifeline, her eyes still shining with tears of betrayal.

Thea didn't say anything, instead, Jensen noticed her eyes gleaming that mischivious gleam that spoke for itself and the sinister smile that was starting to creep on her face.

"Oh Mr. Hyde, what exactly is brewing in that crazy mind of yours?" Jensen said, almost regretting that she actually opened her mouth. Thea didn't reply she just threw another sinister smile and replied with a single sentence.

"Hell hath no fury like a lover scorned"

"It's women not lover…" Jensen said, but Thea was barely listening; her finger, ears and eyes were already too busy. Her eyes never left the screen as she furiously typed away. Jensen noticed that with each minute, her smile started getting bigger. Jensen threw a cautioned look on the deserted office and heaved a sigh of relief. She knew that, without a doubt, Thea was brewing something as illegal as they come, heaven knows, she turns absolutely mental when she plots revenge plans.

Jensen remembers vividly when her old boyfriend, Matthew double timed her with another girl. She wasn't as hysterical as Laurel was, but she was still really upset about it. Thea muttered the very same sentence she said a few minutes ago and then, ultimately, all hell broke loose. She managed to somehow hack into his school records, send his parents all his grades; which she actually changed to appear as if he failed everything. She didn't stop at that; hacking even further into the school's computers; changing all the Desktop images into one of his photos with the caption "I'm a two-timing bastard". She also managed to humiliate the girl he was two-timing her with; placing K-Y jelly all over her car, condoms over her antennas then writing "Cheaters got Rhythm" on her window shields with a permanent marker. All that, and she never took the blame for anything, as the school somehow refused to believe that a mere student could possibly hack into their records. Also the little fact that they never actually got any proof. So, in short, it was really scary to feel Thea's wrath.

A few minutes passed with only the sniffling coming from Laurel and the rapid strokes of the keyboard keys Thea was making being heard in the room. After a few minutes Thea smiled triumphantly at the screen and muttered something underneath her breath breaking the silence in the room and making Jensen glance at her haphazardly.

"Should I be afraid to ask what you did this time?"

Thea finally looked up and smiled secretively at Jensen, "Revenge is just so sweet. Hey, Laurie, you might want to check this out…"

Laurel, who was still teary-eyed glanced at Thea and grimaced a little before replying, "What is it?"

Thea just smiled in return, "Oh trust me, you would really love to see this by yourself…words won't be enough to describe… _anything."_

Laurel approached the desk cautiously as if she's going to be attacked from behind and nervously looked at the screen only to let out an enormous squeal of laughter shortly afterwards.

"What? What did you do?"

Jensen shortly joined them, her curiosity getting the best of her, and upon seeing what her friend did those past 15 minutes, she burst into uncontrollable giggles.

"Oh god…Thea, you're a diabolical, revenge-seeking-fucking genius…"

Jensen managed to say between snorts of laughter and Thea smiled smugly and bowed her head sarcastically.

"Anytime my friend, Proud to have impressed you, now do you want anything else besides her reputation being tarnished? I mean, I would gladly release my inner Bruce lee that easily penetrated me years ago and go ape-shit on her ass…"

The two girls looked at her for a moment and Thea realized what she said moments later and groaned while her two friends laughed.

"Okaaay, I did not mean it that way…Maybe I should really take up thinking before speaking…"

Thea turned around and closed her computer and closed all her stuff while her friends were still busy laughing their heads off.

"Alright alright, I know, I'm freaking hilarious…Can we move on now?"

Both girls nodded and followed her as she closed all the lights and locked the door behind her.

"Just think, Laurel, this time tomorrow, your friend Cece Slut-Well's rather unflattering pictures will be on the front page of every magazine and on all Celebrity gossip channels, thanks to moi!" Thea said smugly and Laurel beamed at her, still really grateful at what he friend did. Jensen merely looked a little uneasily at Thea's direction and Shrugged.

"You know Chica, Sometimes you really scare me...remind me to never get on your bad-side."

The three girls went down the streets and began walking the short distance back to Thea's house. After a few short blocks, Laurel suddenly burst out laughing and Thea looked at her confused only to find Laurel clutching her sides from laughter while looking at a nearby hardware store that had TVs on displays and one of the channels was, coincidently, showing Cece Maxwell and the major damage Thea has just done.

Thea stood for a few seconds and tilted her head and then shook it slowly.

"Well, I guess I was wrong to assume that it would a full 24 hours. 1 hour 28 minutes would have sufficed…"

Laurel and Jensen continued laughing until they reached the house and Thea was just smirking at the whole thing. She was quiet confident in her field but to know that a small joke would just easily infiltrate every gossip channel on IIlea? Well, that changes everything.

"Kaleb! I'm home!"

Thea shouted as she unlocked the door and let her friends in. They were joined shortly by a guy who looked a lot like Thea but with shorter and brighter hair. From the looks of it, Thea guessed that Kaleb was taking a nap.

"What brought you so early?" Kaleb said, rubbing his eyes.

Thea shrugged, "I got tired today"

Kaleb raised his eyebrows at her. "Doing what? Last I checked, your job description includes you sitting on your butt all day long…"

Thea smiled innocently and glanced at her friends.

"Antagonizing a cheater takes a lot of effort."

The three girls burst into laughter again and Kaleb threw them another confused look. Their joint laughter soon garnered the attention of Thea's other best friend and roommate.

"I know what did you last summer and I'm onto you bitch-face." Rosalee said smirking. Thea chuckles at that and Jensen and Laurel exchange a look and laugh again

"Guilty as charged, Captain" Thea smirked and mock-saluted Rosalee who rolled her eyes.

"Okay, back up now, can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Kaleb exclaimed suddenly frustrated.

"Oh keep your pants on big girl, I did nothing dangerous…per say" Thea added in an afterthought. The others grinned and exchanged a look. Kaleb frowned at them and was about to open his mouth again when he noticed Laurel's tears stained face and his confused eyes suddenly softened.

"Laurel, are you okay?" Kaleb said, as he approached her cautiously as if she could break if he tried getting any closer.

Thea, Jensen and Rosalee rolled their eyes in unison. It's no secret that Kaleb always had the biggest crush on Thea's sweet, shy friend. Thea has only been teasing him and telling him to grow some balls and ask her out ever since she noticed how his eyes glossed over every time she walked into the room. That was about 5 years ago. Five years later, and Kaleb still hasn't plucked the courage to even tell her she was pretty. The last time he tried, he kept stuttering for five minutes until the three other girls' joint laughter made him blush profusely and mutter something about having some assignment to do.

"Um…it's nothing it's just…I caught Jet cheating on me with Cece Maxwell." Laurel's face closed off all over again and Kaleb's face hardened, his eyes getting bigger as he got more and more angry.

"That asshole doesn't even deserve to look at you. You deserve someone who would feel like the luckiest man on earth because he gets to see your smile every time he looks at you."

Kaleb suddenly stopped, realizing that he already said too much and the other girls exchanged another look.

"How about you give her a helping hand Kaleb, like nominate someone, you know to make the whole process a teeny weeny bit easier for her… or you know what…" Thea suddenly looked wide eyed at her other friends before looking at her brother who was looking at her with narrowed eyes as if he could sense what she was about to say,

"Wait…the inner eyes is telling me of a wonderful idea…How about you finally grow the balls and do it yourself?"

The three other girls burst into laughter and Laurel blushed as she inclined her head and looked at the floor with a smile on her face.

Kaleb threw a hard glare at Thea who continued to laugh harder and blushed as he looked at Laurel, "Um, Laurel, would you mind taking a walk with me outside?"

Laurel finally looked up and with a smile nodded her head and took his outstretched hand. On their way outside, Kaleb threw another glare at Thea and the other girls and they responded by mock waving at him.

After they disappeared outside, Rosalee sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Laurel is extremely lucky. I mean, I see the way your brother looks at her and I'm almost Jealous. To have someone who loves you like that…well, it's something…"

Thea rolled her eyes, "Kaleb is an idiot though…I mean he's known Laurel for like 4 years now and he hasn't come close to telling her how he feels. That's stupid. I swear if he doesn't do anything this time, he's probably the biggest idiot on this planet."

Jensen sighed, "Laurel is still lucky though, I mean, even if your brother is stupid enough and he's not doing anything about it."

"Yeah, exactly, I mean I'd do anything to get someone to love me like that. You see how his eyes sparkle every time he looks at her? What would I do to make someone look at me a look like that…?"

At that, Thea snorted, "Come on you guys, now you're being a little bit irrational…the next thing you'll be saying is that you're applying for the selection."

Rosalee rolled her eyes, "If anyone of us is supposed to apply for the selection, it should damn well be you. You're the one who had a weird crush on the prince."

Thea snorted again and became defensive, "That was like three years ago, come on! And you can't honestly believe that I'll ever be picked anyway?"

The other two exchange a look before Rosalee gives her a sly look, "You mean to tell me that you thought about applying?"

Both girls looked expectantly at Thea who looked back for a second before refusing to meet their eyes. Rosalee giggled and Jensen soon joined her.

"Oh my God, you actually thought of it! Rosalee and Jensen continued laughing for a moment or two before Jensen got a slightly serious look on her face and looked at Thea curiously, "Why don't you then?"

At that, Thea looked at Jensen as if she grew another head.

"Well, let's see…oh right! First of all, Kaleb will kill me-"

"If Kaleb is doing what I think he's doing right now, because god forbid, if he isn't then he seriously needs to grow some balls…Just saying. Anyway, if he is, he won't exactly be concentrating or exactly giving a flying fuck about your extra-curricular activities much."

Rosalee cut Thea off who shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Besides that, there's no chance of me being picked anyway…do you guys know how many chicks apply for this shit?"

"Well honey, you'll never know unless you try, I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Jensen said, trying to reason with her.

Thea looks at both of them and then lets out a breath of air. "Wow, you guys are actually serious…"

Both girls exchange smiles before getting up and approaching Thea.

"We need to do something with this hair" Jensen claims, as she's inspecting a root and Thea gives her an incredulous look. Rosalee nods while giving Thea a once over.

"Yeah, we also need to scrub her clean as well, all these hours infron of that damn computer made her smell…"

Thea swapped both of their hand away and jumps up rolling her eyes in the process, "Okay stop! I never said I'm down with this shit and Jensen stop fingering my hair, its creepy!"

Jensen dropped her hand and rolled her eyes, "Did you seriously just use the word fingering?"

Thea didn't bother replying and sat down again. Rosalee carefully sat next to her.

"Look Thea, you're not exactly getting any younger here, and if Kaleb has his way, you won't be approached by any guy until a priest tries to court you. Which is, literally and religiously impossible! I mean, for heaven's sake, the guy won't even let you wear skirts in the office!"

Thea frowned, "I can't wear skirts around the office- I spend too much time underneath the desks…"

"Doing what?" Jensen asked looking confused, and Thea opened her mouth but after giving it a thought, closed it again.

"Stuff…"

Rose gave Thea a look but didn't comment, she was used to Thea by now, "Just think about it, if you enter the selection, and let me tell you, yes there's a mild chance of you getting picked. Hell anyone has a fair chance of getting picked. You won't have to worry then about anything else. I'm pretty sure that if we phoned your parents, they'll agree. Heck, your mom might even encourage it!"

Thea let out a defeated sigh, and Jensen threw her a pleasing glance,

"Please give it a try, trust me, you won't regret it. If you got chosen, you could leave if you find out that the prince is a douche-bag or if he's incompatible with you. You're not going to a prison you know."

Rosalee nodded, "That's right, and who knows, coming out of the selection, you'll have more suitors than you could possible count. I heard that those chicks who used to be selected got married to people with big names. And heaven knows, Kaleb doesn't own an army to drive them all away, one of them will stick around."

Thea let out another sigh, "That's all rainbow and roses, but what if I don't get picked in the first place? What now?"

"Well then, there's no harm done… You never wanted to be picked anyways and Kaleb will never know."

Thea doesn't say anything for a few seconds before letting out a huge sigh, "Fiiine" she said, extending the syllable.

Rosalee claps her hands in glee and high fives Jensen, the start by dragging off Thea to the bathroom and washing her hair thoroughly, and after that, they sat her down and began doing her over, making sure that each scratch in her looked, and smelled amazing.

"Now where did you put that form?"

"There it is!" Rosalee said, excited.

"You know, you guys sound much more excited than me, maybe you should apply."

Both girls ignore her and start filling it out.

"Name: Thea Aileen Marshall, Age: 19-"

"I could do that you know…I'm not illiterate…" Thea said rolling her eyes and both girls smirked.

 _Full Name: Thea Aileen Marshall_

 _Age: 19_

 _Province: Ottaro_

 _Caste: 3_

 _Occupation: Computer Science and IT support_

 _Height: 5'4_

 _Weight: 120 Lbs_

 _Eyes: Green-Blue_

 _Hair: Light Brown_

 _Ethnicity: Half-Irish_

 _Skin Tone: Fairly Pale with Freckles_

 _Languages Spoken: English, Spanish and some French._

Thea finished the form an gave it a once over, before being grabbed by Rosalee and Jensen.

"Guys, what the hell?"

"Come on, we need to get you to the post office!"

The three of them went down the flight of stairs in a rush and Thea nearly missed a step ans was going to face-plant. She gave Jensen a glare and Jensen merely shrugged and smiled apologetically.

Upon the reach the landing though they were met by a sight none of them were expecting.

Perched up on a tree was Laurel and Kaleb, their mouths seemed to be glued to each other and they were holding each other like their lives depended on it.

"Gosh finally…" Jensen muttered and both girls agreed.

"See, even if you weren't chosen, big bro over there isn't going to be giving you a hard time now that he's finally gonna get some." At that sentence, Thea got a constipated look on her face.

"Thanks for the image, I really needed to puke my guts out for imagining my brother in that position with one of my best friends"

Jensen smirks at that, "No one asked you to have a dirty mind and imagine them doing anything Thea"

Thea rolled here her eyes, and the three of them carefully make their way away from the couple and head to the post office. The line was pretty long and after about 45 minutes, Thea was finally inside.

"Think happy thoughts, Chica!"

Thea rolled her eyes but smiled, She then vaguely thinks of Kale's face when he finds out what she done and not giving it another thought, she beams at the camera. It snaps!

After finalizing everything with the photographer, Thea gets out to Jensen and Rosalee and with a fleeting look, she finally realizes what she's done.

"Oh god…did I seriously just apply for the selection?"

The three girls share a look before collapsing into a fit of giggles. They then, hand in hand, rush away from the over-crowded post office.

 **A.N: Soooo Sorry for being so so late in updating. I'm trying to make it up for you guys vt giving you a seriously long chapter. (This is 21 pages long!) My next update won't take that long at all. I'll be having three others intro chapters and then I'll be posting a poll, then the Report followed by plane rides and so on. I'm trying to figure out a part in the plotline that's missing but it's coming together. I'll appreciate your feedback and please tell me how you like these characters!**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	6. AN

First off, I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in (almost) a year.

I had so much to do, I was a senior then so I had so much studying to do and I had absolutely no time to write anything. I apologize profusely.

I was writing this AN just to tell you that I fully intend to continue this story. It's been too long, I know but I still am excited and I still have all your forms and characters and I have the storylines on my laptop stored. I'm still excited for this and I hope you guys are too (I know it's a long-shot since it's been to long since I updated this) You guys submitted awesome characters that deserve to be featured and I'm sorry I left abruptly like this. I'm currently writing the next two chapters of this story and I'll try to upload them by the end of this week.

I hope (Some of) you guys are still as excited for this story, and again, I'm sorry I seemingly abandoned it.

-Alice.


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